


SoulCrash

by ColinStriker



Series: SoulCrash [1]
Category: SoulCrash
Genre: Chapter 1, Colin - Freeform, Family, Fantasy, Mechanics, Other, Robotics, Sci-Fi, SoulCrash - Freeform, origin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-16 21:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 27,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13644762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColinStriker/pseuds/ColinStriker
Summary: For a thousand years, an unknown entity has protected the Earth from all sorts of chaos, along with helping rebuild the chaos caused. As the next century comes to an end, along with some extra time, new warriors have to be chosen to stop the chaos. But, will they be enough to stop it?





	1. Colin's Origin

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I've had in the back of my mind for a very long time, going through various revisions in my mind, starting off as a spy story with the parts being gadgets, but, I think that this is probably the best version I have worked of SoulCrash.  
> I’ll try to make this in first person, but, I might miss it sometimes, and if I do, I’m sorry

I must be crazy. I didn’t think I would be writing this story, but here I am, telling my experience. I must admit, this doesn’t seem like a good idea. But I must tell what happened. This is a really important experience for me, and I must tell it.

My name is Colin Striker, I’m 18 years old at the moment… but, this story started when I was 17. I was born in 28th of December of 1999. I wasn’t a grade-a student. I always hung out with the few friends that I had, and most other students bullied me, but, it wasn’t a bad life. I had gotten used to the bullying, my friends always kept me going, and school wasn’t hard, and I had a good time while in it. Plus, even if it was a bad day, I always went through a forest to get back home, where a lot of critters, dogs, and cats came through, so I could relax a bit before getting home.

I guess, all of that changed, once it got to that day. March 6th of 2017. The day where I found… that… 

It was 3:30 pm. That day had been pretty normal, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, until I was going through the woods, thats when something suddenly fell on my head from one of the trees. It was made of a metal material, so it did hit hard. After a few seconds of holding my head from the pain, I looked down at the item that had fallen and kneeled down on the floor to pick it up and inspect it. It seemed like a bracelet, but with some weird modifications. The one that peaked my interest the most were the spikes that appeared from each side, all of them pointing downwards, which would cause anyone to wear it to cut themselves. I would’ve thought twice about those, but I was confused with the other modification, which was a screen that ran through the middle of it. There seemed to be no way to turn it on, there where no buttons, no switches, nothing. It seemed to just be there. I laughed for a bit before standing up and started walking away from it. But, as I started to, I stopped for a bit to think about it. Maybe I could find a way to turn it on, or maybe I could continue investigating it, so I went ahead and grabbed it, placing it in my backpack to protect it, to then continue going back home.

My house, just like the rest of my life, was pretty much a common person’s house. It had two floors, two bathrooms, one on each floor, three bedrooms, one of which was free to use as a game room or guest room, a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room. I walked in through the front door, being greeted by my mother

-Hello Colin!- She shouted this from the kitchen, with a smile visible on her face as she looked at me  
-Hey mom. What are you cooking?- I asked this as I took my backpack for a while in the living room to take my jacket off.  
-I thought about preparing some Chicken with Rice, accompanied by a bit of corn and bell peppers-  
-That sounds really good- He says this as he puts his backpack back on to then head to his room -I’ll be back in a bit, I just need to leave this in my room-  
-No problem Colin- She said this with a cheerful tone as I lost her from my sight.

I entered my room, leaving my backpack on the floor inside my room by the side of my door, going back down. I was going to check the bracelet later, it would not be a good idea to check it now when my mom is awake and at home.

As I get down to the first floor. I crash on the couch and look at my mother in the kitchen

-So, do you think dad’s coming home tonight?- I asked this while still laying down on the couch  
-He called today, he said that the hunt was still going good, so he’ll be home by tomorrow night-  
-Well, that’s another dinner without him…- I said this in a disappointed tone of voice.  
As my mother heard this, she stopped cooking for a bit, turning the stove off to then walk towards the living room, sitting by my side and looking down, with her hands held together above her legs, sighing.  
-Hey, don’t feel bad about it, I’m sure he misses you you just as much as you miss him- She then proceeded to hug me, petting my head slowly -Believe me, everything is going to be ok-  
The hug made me smile for a bit, since it’s not often when she hugs me, and it always warms me up with joy whenever she does, I then proceeded to hug her back.

After a few seconds of hugging, she let go of it, standing up and smiling back at me, to then go back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

Many hours later, after supper and dinner, me and my mother went to sleep to our respective rooms. After a few hours in total darkness, I went outside my room, only peeking my head to listen, sure enough, I only heard my mother’s snores. I then slowly closed my door, locking it behind me. I then grabbed my backpack and went over to my desk, taking out some screwdrivers and batteries. I then slowly took out the bracelet from my backpack, placing it in front of me. The first thing I did was open the latch on the bottom, which made it extend out as if it was going to be put on. I then proceeded to look for any kind of screws on it. There seemed to not be any of them . I then proceeded to try and connect both sides of the battery to the bracelet, to see if maybe it had enough energy to turn the monitor on, again, to no luck at all. I tried to keep on looking for a bit, getting tired from time to time, until half an hour later, I fell asleep, my wrist falling on top of the open bracelet… after a few seconds of it being there, the bracelet snapped onto me, the spikes closing in on my wrist, waking me up from the pain. I tried to take it off, but, as if it was an act of magic, the latch was nowhere to be seen. I tried many ways to take it off, to no avail. After a few minutes of trying, I noticed something interesting, there wasn’t any blood coming from the wounds, they seemed to be dry, but I did feel my blood still circulating. I then turned to see the bracelet, and, like with the latch, it turned on, with this message appearing on it

BLOOD LINK ESTABLISHED. POWER, 5%

After a few seconds with this message on screen, it changed to a different one.

INITIATE WARP? >YES -NO

It seemed like it wanted me to choose one of the two. I wasn’t really sure what would happen, and seeing what has happened throughout all of this, I really wish I had chosen no.

After thinking it, I decided to tap the YES just by curiosity.

THE ANSWER HAS BEEN DECIDED… ENJOY.

As the message appeared, my body slowly started to disappear, starting with my right arm. I freaked out, trying to stop it, but to no avail. As the disappearing got to my shoulder, I started to feel weak, to which I fell down on the floor, and after a few more seconds, I fell unconcious…

 

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Brace up for a trial

I regained my consciousness slowly, placing my hand over my face as I started lifting my body slowly from the floor. After I stood up fully, I started to open my eyes, rubbing them slowly, just to see that the room I was now in lacked any sort of light. There was nothing that could be seen, I couldn’t even see my hands. I tried to move around the room, being stopped by a barrier in front of me. I tried moving in every direction, but the barrier kept being there, stopping all of my movements. After a few minutes, a bright light, like a spotlight fell upon me, blinding me for a bit, I covered my eyes quickly as I saw the light, rubbing them slowly until the got used to the light. I then proceeded to take my arm off my eyes to take a look around. The spotlight only covered my immediate surroundings, showing that the barrier that covered me was like a witness stand in a jury hall. As I saw it, I tried to jump over it, just to be pushed back by an invisible force coming from my front

-Do not move from your spot- This was said by what seemed to be a femenine voice, not an old voice, but also not very young, It would be around her 20s or 30s

-Hey, come on, give him some type of respect, I mean you did just port him out of his comfort zone- This was said by a different voice, a masculine voice of around my age. This was said in a very laid back voice, almost relaxed in a sort of way.

-But still, he should at least respect the boundaries, there is no reason to try and leave this place- The female voice spoke up once more in an annoyed tone at the male voice

-Well, like I said, he’s at least trying to get his bearings on the situation-

-Could you two just stop arguing and at least explain where I am?!- I said this angrily at them as I started to stand up from the push, having to agree with the male voice, seeing how I wasn’t anywhere near my house by the looks of it

-Oh hey look, he finally decided to speak up- Said the female voice in response, in a faked surprise tone

-Well, what are you waiting for? Explain- This was said by the male voice, being directed at the female voice

-What?! Why me?-

-You’re the boss-

-Oh… right… well, let’s just get it over- She says this followed by a sigh, as she breathes in for a bit -Colin Striker, you have been chosen as part of the eleventh generation of SoulCrash, as bearer of the bracelet. You have been analyzed in recent times by your previous bearer, as he reached you as a possible successor-

My face tilted from the confusion caused by the words spoken, still with an expression of annoyance. -Okay, could you please state it in terms that I can understand?-

-… Why did you chose him?- This was asked by the female voice, directed towards the male one.

-Hey, don’t go questioning me now, I’m pretty sure he has some, untapped potential, believe me, he’s not this bad-

-And how would you know that exactly?- I asked this with anger as I tried to look around for the origin of the voices, which echoed all around the room, making it impossible to find them

-I’ve seen how you act from a day to day basis. I know what your parents are. I know what you can do… and I know why you hold back…- The male voice said this in a very confident tone.

After I heard that last part, I got paralyzed in fear, my arms trembling as I tried to keep calm on the outside, trying to throw a smile -Oh really, do tell? Tell me why I hold back- I kept freaking out on the inside, keeping my breathing steady

-You see, while I was examining you as a candidate, I got to tap into your mind, seeing all of your memories. I know of that one little experience, even if it was locked behind some very, let’s say, secure doors-

My breathing stopped after hearing those last words, as a light, white flame appeared on my hand. After noticing it, I called it back. I was losing control. -Look, that experience is something that I’d rather keep as a lesson than as a way to improve… I won’t ever do anything like that… again-

The female voice gasped in a low volume -Wait… that flame… I recognize that… are you, by any chance, related to James Striker?-

My eyes widened quickly as I turned around quickly -How… how the fuck do you know him?!- I shouted this in an angry tone, my arms going by my side

-Hey, there’s no need to be aggressive. Now, please, calm down. We do know his location. And, if you join us, you will know where he is… In due time, of course- This was said by the female voice in a relaxed, almost convinced tone

I stayed in my spot, fearing what I was thinking. James, my brother, had been missing for months, as if he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. If they did know where James was, this could make my family happy if I do get him back… but, they could also be hiding something from me. I tried to rationalize it, but my feelings got the best of me, as the next words flew out of my mouth without a second thought.

-Look, this is really shady, and I don’t know what to think of it, but if it gives me a chance to find my brother by joining your asses, then I have no other choice but to accept-

-Excellent- This was said by the female voice in a tone of joy as the rest of the room lit up. I turned my head looking for them, finding them right behind my back. I was right with the male voice. He was around my age, he had black hair, a scar over his right eye, a white and black spiraled t-shirt, along with some jeans and blue running shoes. In contrast, I was completely wrong with the female one, she seemed to be in her 20s, her white hair reaching down to her waist. She was around my height (Which is 1.71 meters). She had a pair of c-cups, along with a plain white shirt, a pair of shorts (Which reached down to her knees) and some formal shoes.

-Now then, if I may say, I welcome you… to SoulCrash. I am the boss, Martel Irving… this is the previous user of the bracelet, Regal Aurion… and, for the following week, he shall be your instructor-

-Instructor?- After I asked this, being confused by her words, I turned my head to look at Regal, who had a cocky smile across his face, looking back at me… He clearly knew how much I hated the idea…

END OF CHAPTER 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, there was to much exposition to my liking, but I felt that I should give some motivations, and give a bit of clues to what might happen. Thanks for surviving this


	3. Unwanted Training

After what happened then, we were immediately teleported to a different room. The room had various windows to the outside, which just showed a cloudy sky, so there were still no clues to where I was. The room was completely covered in metal plates, with a simple dining room set, two chairs and one table. That seemed to be everything in the room as I started to walk towards the middle of the room, which started to expand as I got closer to the middle. As if it had no end.

-Curiosity killed the cat- This was said by Regal, who was now standing behind me

-So, curiosity is something normal, specially when, well, you know, not know where you are- I said this in a sarcastic tone as I continued to walk, the room continuing to get bigger… or so I had thought. I then turned my head towards the furniture set, which seemed to have moved while I did, as well as the window. I then continued to walk slowly to notice, the room wasn’t growing, but rather, it was moving alongside me to not run out of space

-Still, you might not want to walk on your own in this room. You could get… lost-

-What do you mean by lost? It’s just a single room-

-It might look like that, but, believe me, I have heard stories about this room. Most candidates lost their minds inside this room. This is basically the room where we know if you have the strength to manage what you have to do in the future- He says this with a cocky smile as he moved freely inside the room, reaching the chair and table

-So, this is a test, huh?- After saying this, I proceeded to smile as I turned my head towards him. -Challenge accepted- The first thing I tried was moving towards the chairs and table. Of course, this failed instantly, as the room continued to move alongside me

-You know, you can train anything else while you figure out how to get out of the center of the room- Regal said this as he was sitting down, drinking a cup of tea slowly

-What are you talking about?-

-Remember, I know everything about you kiddo. I know what you used to do, and I know why you stopped-

I still tried to shake off the thought of him going through my mind, even if I did try to hide it from others, I was scared. If he was mentioning the words training, that means that I will have to fight. And I hadn’t participated in any battle for 7 years… but, if I had to train…-And where am I going to get my weapon exactly?-

-Why do you think you have the bracelet? Let me just say, with it, possibilities are endless, you just need to… visualize it- He said this with a smile as he continued to serve himself another cup of tea

I turned to look at the bracelet. It seemed to be fully charged, as the screen did not show any signs of the old messages from before I lost consciousness.Instead, the screen had turned purple, with nothing on it. I then proceeded to think what he said… visualize…after thinking about it, I started to remember my old sword, the one I used to use with my dad and brother. As I started to remember it, the screen changed, showing that same sword that was on my mind. I proceeded to tap the screen, which made the sword slowly start appearing on my hand, which then pulled me down to the ground. The sword in question was a double-bladed buster sword.

image  
(Kind of like this. Found a picture of this buster on google and just doubled it)

-Hey, are you alright over there kiddo?- Regal said this from his chair, leaning a bit forward

-Don’t call me kiddo…- I said this while struggling a bit, lifting myself up from the floor, trying to carry the sword with one arm… it had been a long time since I last did this, so I wasn’t as strong as before, but I could still manage to pick it up, even if it was hard to do.

-Don’t overexert yourself. You’re going to need all of the energy you can get to exit this spot-

He was starting to get on my nerves as I started to use the sword to hold myself up, as I started to think of a pair of throwing knives, tapping on the screen to letting them fall on the floor as I smiled lightly

-Hey, at least make something a bit more creative. Throwing knifes are-

A knife then got nailed right by the side of his head. I threw that knife.

-Could you please shut the hell up!?- I then slowly stood upright while continuing to hold my buster sword in one hand while starting to walk towards him -Look, it’s already enough with me not knowing where the hell I am, and since you’re so much into entering my mind, then you should know. I DON’T LIKE BEING TRAINED. Specially by sarcastic mother scratcher like you!- Without noticing, as I walked, the room stopped moving on me, allowing me to get close enough to him to point the tip of my blade up against his throat -So, it’s either you start training me properly, or just explain to me how this thing works so I can kill you-

As he saw the blade on his throat, he smiled at me, standing up slowly, to then flick his finger towards me. Oddly, that sent me flying back toward the middle of the room, he then slowly walked towards me, picking me up from the neck, lifting me off the ground

-Listen to me kiddo… never threaten me again… you won’t like what I’m capable of- He said this in a cocky tone as he smiled, preparing to throw me back onto the ground

Right then, at that moment, I did what I promised myself not to do ever again.-Ghastly Illusion- My body began to spasm rapidly as it phased through his hand, to then swing my arm towards his neck, swinging it hard enough to crack it…

 

[ABILITY DESCRIPTION]

Ghastly Illusion  
This ability is mainly a defensive ability, even if it may have offensive capabilities. This is a Sylph ability, which allows it’s user to turn intangible, while still appearing visible. While in this state, the user can stop one of the parts in his body, making it possible to hit someone with that specific body part. Armors make this almost impossible, straining the user to the point where he might become tired very easily, since the armor adds more mass to what is already intangible. This can be reduced by only turning one body part intangible There is also a secondary state to this ability, but… we’ll cover that soon enough.

I turned my head towards him, throwing my sword on the ground -Not as powerful as you thought you were, huh?- I then laughed a bit as I started to kick his torso while he was down.

Then, as if it was magic, he grabbed my leg, smiling as he slowly stood up, throwing me back with a flip.

-Well, you have a lot of spirit kid, let me tell you that- He cracked his neck back into place -And I got to admit, you did catch me off guard with that move. Ghastly Illusion, eh? That rings a small bell in my memory, like I’ve heard of that ability before- He then went ahead and lifted me up from the ground, standing me upright.

The room seemed to heal all the wounds and injuries that kept on happening to us while in the room, which was helpful, since I didn’t feel as much pain as I should, but it still messed with me…

-You know, I think this will be a fun week of training-

END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. Family Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a week has passed, Colin visits his parents for one of the last times, to tell them about what has happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So, I was originally going to resume the training and do a little scene at the beginning… but I was pacing it HORRIBLY. I didn’t even like how the beginning was turning out. So I’m going to jump to the important part of this chapter, the reason why this chapter is named like that. I’ll do a side post explaining the training and what was done during it)

I went home after the talk with Martel… training was hard, and if a week had really passed, I did have to talk with my parents, they were probably worried about me.

I was about to open the door to the house when I heard a bag plop down behind me. I began to turn around before I was attacked by a hug… it was mom.

-Um, hi mo-  
-Don’t you even dare to speak! Do you know how much we’ve been worried about you?! You didn’t answer any calls, none of your friends had seen you anywhere… it seemed as if you had disappeared completely!-  
-Mom, it’s-  
-NO! IT’S NOT FINE!- She said this as she squeezed me a bit harder-You better have a great explanation for this or I will kill you!-

She never lies when she says that. I already died once to her. But, I was not planning on lying about the situation…

-I will explain it… but I need both you and dad so that there’s no problem understanding it-  
-Well, you’re in luck, because he is in there- As she said this, she lifted me off the ground and entered the house by carrying me by the neck of my shirt.

As we entered, I saw my father in the kitchen, who turned around to see us both, with the frying pan he was holding falling down to the ground, spilling all the oil it had on the floor… Good think we had no pets… He then quickly ran towards us to slap me quickly.

-Hey! What was that for?- I said this in confusion to then be hugged by him, tears flowing down his cheeks  
-Don’t you ever DARE to disappear like that again. You had us worried sick- He said this in a really sad tone as he held me tighter in his arms  
-Well, at least I did come back… but… I might have a lead-

After I said that, my mother let go of my neck and my dad let go of the hug, allowing me to fall to the floor facefirst. After a few seconds, they noticed that I was on the floor, to which they proceeded to lift me up and place me on the couch. They then both brought each one chair and sat down in front of me.

My mom spoke up first, she was always the bravest of the two when talking to me and my brother

-Okay, as much as I want to slap you for disappearing like him without any notice, you probably want to tell us about what happened… talk, we’ll know if you’re lying or not, remember-

I was glad that they wanted to hear me, but, they seemed really serious about it. I started telling them about what happened, The bracelet, which I even showed to them, I told them about the trial, the training, to which my dad snickered, followed by my mom hitting him in the arm. After I told the, what happened before I went home (To be told in a side story), my dad leaned back, sighing a bit…

-So, you got trained by someone?- He said this in a joking tone, to which I pouted angrily. I never wanted to train with him, everything I learned was self thought.  
-Could you please let that go? It’s not even funny dad-  
-But, did they seriously tell you that they knew where he was? Could you really find him?- My mom said this in a tone of surprise.  
-They were talking with a serious tone. I think I could find him… But, I don’t know his state, they knew who he was, but they didn’t tell me where or what he was doing…- I said this, turning my head down as I tried to do a cheerful tone on my voice…  
-Hey, calm down. If they’re being honest, then I’m sure you’ll find him- My dad said this as he placed his arm on my shoulder, in an attempt to calm me down.

I smiled a bit as I kept my head down -I had our boss agree with me letting me stay one week at home before I had to go live there… I know I shouldn’t have to ask, but, can you forgive me enough to let me stay?-

After my mom heard this, she hugged me tightly, with tears flowing down from her eyes, her ethereal form showing a bit -Of course my son. You will always be welcome back home- She said this while crying as she held me in her arms

I hugged her back tightly, to then be joined by my father… I missed them… even if I hadn’t noticed that a week had passed, I did miss them much… and, for their sake, and to finally have our family back, I will get my brother back from wherever he is.

END OF CHAPTER 4


	5. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final day of recovery.

I woke up. Like last time, no dreams haunted my sleep. It always felt empty when I woke up without any dreams, but, I had gotten used to that emptiness.

I got myself up from the bed and proceeded to walk to my moving bag, which I had been filling up with clothes for the last week. Today was the last day of the week I had agreed on with Martel. Today was the day I had to say goodbye… I was going to try to discuss if I could visit my family from time to time, but, it would be hard to make that possible. I went to my closet the last pack of clothes that I would need, placing them on my packing bag. I lifted it up and placed it over my shoulder. As I walked towards my door, I turned around, taking one last look at it. I smiled at it one last time, to then go out of it, turning of the lights before getting out. I locked the door outside and took the key to it, placing it in the packing bag under my clothes. I went down the stairs while holding the bag.

I slid down the railing of the stairs, when I almost landed on the ground, something held me from falling down. I smiled as I looked to my right, seeing my mother hold her hand out, a blue aura coming out of it

-Colin, I know it’s the last day here, but, you could at least use the stairs normally- She said this in a joking tone as her hand went down, making me fall on my butt. I slowly lifted myself up and looked at her, still smiling

-Well, I thought I could at least head out with a good memory out of this- I said this in a joking tone as I walked over to her to hug her -Good morning mom-

She hugged me back with a light smile on her face to then walk back, letting go -Colin, could we talk about something before you go?-

-Sure. What do you want to talk about?-

She proceeded to walk towards the sofa, sitting down as she patted the seat right beside her. I sat down at the spot she pointed. She then looked towards me with a sparkle in her eyes, her smile slowly disappearing from her face

-So, your going to start having to fight, right?-

-Um, yeah, I explained it to you-

-Well, you do still remember when you come from?-

-Mom, of course I remember… wait, you don’t want me to-

-Colin, listen to me. You’re going to go against many strong monsters, and you might run into many situations where that bracelet might not be enough. So, I implore you… could you please just train it?-

-Mom, please, you know I don’t like using them. They remind me of that moment-

-Colin. Please, I need you to train your Sylph magic and abilities-

-Please, I don’t want to. I barely had the grasp after not using–

-Wait, you already used them again?-

-Well, I mean, yeah, I did, but it was on accident, and I was in trouble-

She was smiling all the way through that with a sparkle in her eyes -Even if it was by accident, you started using them again. Even if it was just one time, you might get back into your nature… although, you do need to keep your power in check.-

-Mom, I don’t want to talk about it-

-I know, I know. But, just promise me that you’ll at least try to use them-

I sighed for a bit, lowering my head a bit, to then lift it back up -Fine… I will. But, as soon as I find James, I’ll come back with him and will not fight anymore-

-I accept your condition- My mother answered this with a smile on her face as she hugged me again, holding me tightly in her arms -Just please, both of you come back in one piece-

-We will mom, we will- I hugged her back tightly with a smile on my face, closing my eyes gently, to then be quickly lifted up by a shadowy arm from the back of my shirt, lifting me up into the air

-Hey, if you’re going to ask him to use Sylph abilities, I might as well ask him to train Hunter abilities- My dad said this from behind a wall, his hand glowing in a shadow aura as he moved me close to him, plopping me down in front of him

-You could at least wait for our hug to be over before you lifted me up- I said this in a joking tone.

-Yes darling, we were having a moment-

-I know all about your moment- He said this with a cocky smile as he lifted his head up, pointing at his ear -Hunter skills, remember?-

-Dad, please, no need to remind us- I said this with a laugh as I hugged him tightly -But, well, if I am going to use Sylph abilities, I might as well also use Hunter ones… Once I learn them- I said this while turning my head down a bit

-Hey, kiddo, don’t worry about it. I know that they did not come naturally for you, but you can learn them, you do have hunter blood in you.- He patted my head with a warm smile on his face as he lifted me up with a hug -We will miss you kiddo. Come back in one piece-

He said this in a tone he had never used before, as if he was melancholic. He seemed to be sad about all of this, and I had never heard him sad before

After a few seconds of us hugging, there was a ring sound, our doorbell had been used. I let go of the hug and proceed to open the door. As I opened it, I started to see Martel by the other side of the door. I imagine she would arrive without giving me enough time to eat breakfast. I closed the door quickly on her and turned around to look at my parents one last time

-Well, it seems like my time here has come to an end-

-But, you haven’t even eaten- My mom said this in a worried tone, as she stood up from the couch

-Yeah, yeah, I know, but, the quicker I go, the quicker I come back, don’t I?- I said this in a happy tone, trying to cheer both of my parents up to not leave them with a sour memory

Both my parents walked towards me and grabbed both my shoulders/

-Colin. Just, be careful out there, okay? Promise us to come back in one piece- My dad said this, once more, with his melancholic tone.

-I will dad- “I hugged both of them, holding them tightly in my arms, a tear flowing down my face -I will-

-Oh wow, I did not expect this from the same guy who staked me to a wall- This was said by a different female voice than my mother. I turned my head towards the living room, where I saw Martel sitting down, drinking from a glass of red whine.

My dad, by instinct, backed up from us and pulled a knife from his pocket, throwing it right at Martel’s glass, flicking it from her hand.

-How the hell did you get in here?!-

-Dad, calm down… She’s my boss-

-Well, now I see where your son got his violent impulses- She said this with a laugh as she stood up and started to walk towards us, holding her hand out -But, as you know, he only agreed for one week. I hope you understand this- She then jumped behind me, almost touching my shoulder, to then be pushed back onto the wall by my dad’s hunter hand

-Well, at least I did get to meet you in person, that way I can threaten you fully- He said this in a more serious tone as he started to get close to Martel

-Oh wow, as if I was scared of a simple hunter- Martel said this in a cocky tone as she got herself off the hand and pushed my father back into the kitchen. To then touch my shoulder -But, I guess I must bid you farewell. We have been running late for quite some time- As she said this, the usual white glow started to cover us -Goodbye… Strikers-

I tried to reach my hand out towards my mother for one last moment, but, as if she knew, my hand was the first one to go. My mother started to look sad for this, but she tried to smile. I could see it in her eyes. My body continued to disappear quickly from my house, until, like the first time, I lost consciousness, with the last things I heard were my mother crying, and Martel’s voice saying -Welcome to my world-

END OF CHAPTER 5


	6. New Life, New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the rest of the members for the new team, will everyone interact well together?

Just like the last time I was teleported, I slowly started to regain my consciousness, opening my eyes slowly, sitting up from the bed in which I was now laying down, while turning my head from side to side, trying to see the room in which I was in… my room… I got up quickly and started to analyze the room. The bed, the window, the drawer, the carpet. They were all the same, and in the same spot. I went paranoid for a while until I noticed something, everything was fine at the outside, but what about the inside? I went to my closet and opened it, which was when I saw it, just as I opened it, the clothes were still creating themselves. They were being created in front of my eyes. The room was slowly replicating itself in front of me. I wasn’t at my house. I looked towards the place where the door would be, the door was slowly transforming from it’s original form, a mechanical slide door, to a more standard knob door. I was back at that god forsaken base…

I went towards the window. There were only clouds, as far as the eye could see. I tried to punch the wall out of frustration, only to get hurt in the process… I didn’t get to fully say goodbye. I was now in this, whether I liked it or not… I needed to not forget why I was here, I just need to search for James, and that would be all…

My room finished preparing itself. As soon as it finished, I heard the door swinging open  
-I see you’re finally awake sleepyhead- Said Martel, as she started to enter my room. -I must admit, your father was a more skilled hunter than what I thought, he actually managed to grab me-  
-So you’re not going to have the decency to let me say goodbye, eh? I guess I’m in for a hell of a ride- I said this as I turned around, hiding how I was feeling with the same cocky smile I inherited from my father. I then slowly started walking towards her -So, tell me, you said generation when I was on trial for this shit, so I am guessing I’m not the only one in it-  
-So, you have a keen memory? Should’ve guessed from a hunter’s son. But, yes, you are right, there are 3 more members for this team, all of which have been chosen for this new generation, in fact, that’s why I came to your room-  
-What do you mean?-   
-Well, since the team is finally complete, today we you shall be having your first meeting, in which you’ll all present yourselves- She said this in a playful tone, bending over a bit with a smile on her face -Of course, this is supposed to be a serious team, but, a childish meeting like this should be good enough to get all of you started-  
I tilted my head in confusion, but just shook it off. She acted way to childish for the age she was supposed to be, but, it did not matter -Well, I guess you might have your reasons. Well, I guess it should be easy- I started to walk out of the room slowly, placing my hands on my pants’s pockets  
-That’s great. The meeting room is to the right after getting out. Good luck… since you’ll be the last one to get there-

I laughed the last comment off and continued to walk towards the meeting room, looking at my right wrist. The bracelet was still there, and it still felt like it was sucking on blood, but now the flow felt much slower. I checked the screen on it

ENERGY: 86%

It seemed to always be recharging until the moment it was completely charged. I did feel weak due to it, but it wasn’t as bad as many other experiences I had gone through, but it was slightly noticeable. I got to a door at the end of the hallway and proceed to enter it.

The room was filled with screens, showing a wide view of a coast, riding all around the room. In the middle, there was a circular couch, with a gigantic globe of the Earth in the middle of it. By one indentation on the wall, there was a pad on the floor, which didn’t seem to serve any use at the moment. On the couches, three persons were sitting down, a young girl of around my age, a kid which seemed to be much younger that both of us, and one more person, covered completely in a suit of armor, not even showing his face to the rest of us.

-It’s about time you showed up- This was said by the kid, turning his head towards me after he heard the door open -We were wondering when our final member would be joining us- He said all this with a sarcastic tone as they all started to stand up, excluding the one in the armor.   
-Well, I certainly didn’t expect anyone to be such earlybirds- I said this in a joking tone as I jumped into the couch, sitting in a free space between the girl and the guy in armor  
-Well, we certainly didn’t expect our last teammate to be a homesick- This was said by the girl with a serious tone on her voice.   
-Oh come on guys, it’s not a big deal, it’s not like many things happened while I was gone-  
-…- The man in the armor just stayed silent  
-Okay, guys, let’s calm down and just do what Martel asked us to do. In fact, I’ll start. My name, is Colin Striker, I’m 17 years old- I said this while lifting my arms up in calm tone, trying to calm everyone down  
-Fine. My name is Ness Roels, I’m also 17 years old- This was said by the kid, which surprised me at the time. He then proceeded to hit my head quickly -And do not think that we’re done with this talk-  
-Martha Skyward. 17- This was said by the girl, who had now turned around and sat back down at her spot  
-Mark- Those were the first words I heard from the man in the suit of armor. No mention of his last name, or even an age  
-Oh, now the hunk of junk decides to talk. Man, two worthless members that have spilled their beans- This was said again by Ness, who had, along with Martha, sat back down on his chair  
-Dude, for fucks sake, come on, we just met, there’s no need to be an asshole about it-  I said this with an annoyed tone as I walked right in front of him  
-Oh, and what are you going to do about it?- He said this with a cocky tone as he looked up at me, smiling.  
I immediately grabbed his head, lifting him off the couch -You sure are annoying for a tiny piece of shit- I proceeded to throw him against one of the monitors.  
He slowly began to stand up, the monitor being intact behind him -And you certainly are a loudmouth for a homesick piece of shit- He then quickly launched a knife in my general direction, which I proceeded to block quickly  
-Man, you simply won’t give up your smartass, now will you?- I quickly summoned my buster with the bracelet and started to walk towards him  
-And it seems like we got a fight within five minutes of you meeting- This was said by a female voice, Martel’s voice, as she freezed both of us in place -Man, I simply cannot leave any of you even for a simple meet up- She then grabbed both me and Ness and set us back on the couch-Now guys, you need to learn that you’ll be having to work together. I do not know for how long, and I do not know how much. But you need to understand this so we do not have any problems in the future-   
Martha nodded at this, I tried to nod, but was frozen in place, Mark stayed silent, and Ness just stayed completely still  
-Good, see? That was much better…- She said this with a smile, and then, after unfreezing both me and Ness, she lifted her arms up to the ceiling, saying -Now, the show can start.

End of the Beginning. END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. First mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first mission is finally here. What will attack our heroes, and what fruits will the fight bring

We were still frozen in place, as Martel continued to walk slowly towards the both of us, scratching her head as she did it, while sighing

-And I thought this kind of reunion would be a good idea. Specially seeing how today’s your first mission. How did it go south this quickly? - She asked this as she kept walking over to us – You know what, don’t answer, just remind me to not leave any of you alone while you’re in here- Once she got past us and got the center of the circular couch, she snapped her fingers, letting both me and Ness go, falling on to the ground due to us losing our balance.

  
-Hey, at least be more careful when you release us!- I told this to her angry, as I got back up on my feet, slowly calming down from the earlier dispute, shaking off the dust from the fall as I start to walk back towards the couch, picking the empty spot by Mark’s side, seeing as he was the only one that did not act hostile against me. Ness followed soon after, a bit annoyed, but without saying a word, as he put on a helmet, covering most of his face excluding his mouth.

Martel continued standing in the middle of the circle created by the sofa, with a calm expression on her face -Well, now that that fight is over, allow me to do the briefing. So, I know it’s a bit quick for this, but, we have already passed through many disasters due to the accident with Colin- She said this as if it didn’t matter, but clearly, the rest of the members, except for Mark, started to look at me with a tone of hatred. I continued to think that what I did wasn’t a problem. And, if it was that important, why didn’t she send an incomplete team, based on what Regal had said during training, the team was filled to the brim with strong people, each with their own piece. Clearly there wasn’t much of a problem, even without me. -But, let’s just get this started. So, a few days ago, various alarms started to sound about a great monster. The monster has destroyed two small villages, but luckily, both evacuated on time. Various sights have found that same monster going around near to a third village in those sets of villages. So, if we get there quick, we should not have any more chaos regarding that monster- She then proceeded to get off the center pad, heading out of the circle couch, as the pad where she was standing proceeds to light up -That will be your transportation method. Once you step in, it should teleport you right to where the monster is traveling-

-So then, who shall do the honors of going first? – I say this while beginning to stand up from my seat slowly, placing my hands in the pockets of my pants

-Well then, why don’t you do it, hotshot? – Ness said this with an annoyed tone on his voice as he began to stand up slowly – I mean, you might as well test it’s not a trap –

-Oh really? And why me exactly? Based on what you have on, I can guess your piece is the helmet, so your brain must be smart. So, tell me, why send the one you don’t know is going to work or not? –

-Exactly for that! That way we can pull out the member that for now seems to have the most bullshit. Oh, please allow me to go out to my parents, I get homesick easily- This last part was say with a mocking tone towards me

-I’ll go- This was said by Mark as he walked into the pad, disappearing almost immediately after stepping on it

-If you’re just going to keep up arguing, I’m just going through- This was said by Martha, who then followed Mark, stepping inside of the pad.

-Oh well, might as well follow through- I said this with a cocky smile on my face, getting in after Martha.

This teleportation felt much different as the other ones I had tried before. This felt more like a surge of energy all over my body. It felt weird, but it wasn’t bad at all.

Once the teleportation ended, I found myself surrounded by Martha and Mark, with a view to something that was relaxing. The mainland where we were being mainly plain, with some grass hills, to the sides were a bunch of forests, and to the distance, we could see the village that was being threatened. After a few minutes of looking, Ness appeared right between us, looking up at us.

-Oh, look, perfect for a battle- He said this while clashing his fists with a tone of excitement in his voice, as he started to look around for the beast.

-You do know that, if it is possible, we could only incapacitate it, right? – I said this with a calm tone while looking right at him while preparing my double buster.

-Oh, come on, as if I’d let this slide. This is going to be great. After waiting for a fucking week for you to come here, I’ve been aching for a fight- He said this while looking around for the beast, to then set down on the floor, making a small carving.

-Ness, what are you doing? – Martha had asked this with some curiosity in her voice, as she looked over his shoulder to see.

Almost as soon as she did, a great firework show started to appear right in front of Ness, pushing him back a bit as he continued to smile. -This should call its attention-

-Hey! Are you out of your mind?!- I said this while grabbing him from the neck of his shirt, lifting him up slowly -We are supposed to go without being discovered by the people. Do you even think your actions before you do them?!-

-As if you did. Come on, nothing’s going to happen. They’ll surely just think it’s a kid playing with some rockets or some shit like that. Plus, look behind you- He said this last part with a cocky tone as he pointed behind me. -It’s already running towards us-

As soon as I heard those words come out of his mouth, I turned my head around quickly. In the distance, I saw it, a Cerberus, a dog with 3 heads, running directly towards us in a quick manner, his fangs showing, and his red eyes filled with rage. I quickly took out the buster, placing it in front of me, preparing for a head-on triple head-butt. But, right after that, Mark stood up in front of me, placing his legs on an A form and crossing his arms in front of him.

-Impenetrable Defense- As he said this, a big forcefield appeared in front of us, covering most of the area the Cerberus would strike.

[ABILITY DESCRIPTION]

Impenetrable Defense

As the name implies, this hunter ability creates a force-field in front of the user, which commonly supports many types of strikes and projectiles. It takes an immense amount of force to break a barrier like this. But, since it only creates the barrier right in front of the user, the backside is completely un covered, and, since the barrier needs all the user’s concentration, it makes it so the user cannot counter attack any incoming back strikes.

 The Cerberus crashed into the barrier, without even denting it. It was the first time I saw someone using hunter abilities in this manner, I’ve only seen them in an offensive manner.

-I’ll concentrate on our defenses, you concentrate on fighting this- Mark said this once again with his monotone voice as he stayed on the same position.

As he heard this, Martha jumped above us, pulling a bow from out of her boots, preparing to shoot into the eyes of the Cerberus, with 6 arrows coming out of her bow -Blind and run bitch- She said this before shooting all her arrows into their eyes, making the Cerberus squeal in pain. But, without much time to prepare, the Cerberus quickly recovered, with a dark aura surging from its eyes as they heal back up. When Martha saw this, she fell back to the ground, and, even with the height she jumped, she still landed safely, without any signs of pain in her body. It was as if her fall had been cushioned in some way. Followed by her, Ness jumped by one of his sides, as the helmet he had put on earlier started to emit various beams of light from it, to then start spinning -Spin and rip! – As the beams started to spin, they started to go through the Cerberus’s body, cutting him almost in half. But, just like with Martha, a shadowy aura started to appear around the wounds healing them back up.

After he attacked, it was my turn, I jumped out from the side opposite to Ness, to which I pulled my Double Buster, infusing it with water and thunder elements, both in each different blade. I first sliced open his side with the water side, to then quickly thrust the thunder side into it. I could see it shocking him, but, after some time, he seemed to stabilize quickly, quickly closing his wounds, which were small compared to the rest of the attacks that had be done. I quickly jumped back behind the shield -This doesn’t make any sense. How has he not died yet?!-

-Just hit him fast enough so that he dies before he can regenerate! - Ness shouted this at me as his beams crossed over the necks of the Cerberus, cutting the three of them without any struggle at all. Once the beast fell, he then proceeded to take off his helmet and sigh in relief -Well then, I don’t know how the fuck that worked, but fine-

He then started to walk back towards us, the Cerberus slowly stood back up from the floor, swiping Ness quickly far away from us, taking the helmet with him. As it stood up, the sockets where his heads slowly started to pulse, popping the heads back out, but, also bringing two more heads in each socket, making for a total of nine heads.

-Oh god what the hell is that?!- I shouted this a bit in despair as I continued to hold on to my sword, as I continued to strike the rest of his body quickly -A freaking Cerhydra?!- I came up with the name on the spot, as it might be obvious, coming from the combination of Cerberus and Hydra, although, whoever is reading this might already know from the name alone. As it regenerated, Martha shouted back from the safety of the shield

-Well, it is that, then water isn’t probably the best element for this! – As she said this, she quickly jumped back into the air, pulling out one arrow that had an extended blade, as she stays in the air with rockets which were on her boots. Once in the air she shouted once again at me -Charge your sword with fire once the wounds are exposed or this’ll all be for nothing. Deal!? – Once she said this, I prepared the sword with both edges in fire element like she asked.

She shot the arrow, which cut off every single head from the Cerhydra. Once he was down again, I sliced the top of each head with the fire sword, cauterizing all the wounds quickly so that they would not come out once more.

The Cerhydra started to struggle around as it tried to regenerate its heads, quickly losing air, to finally fall onto the ground, without any breathing cycles or any signs of struggle, to then slowly start disappearing once the last of its oxygen is over.

Once the monster was gone, a portal made of light appeared where we once teleported. But, before we crossed, we went on to check on Ness, I went running towards the spot where he was, sliding in to where he was lying unconscious I gave him a slap across his two cheeks to wake him up. He did not wake up, even after that. Martha slowly came after me while still flying

-Do you need help Colin? – She asked this with a worried tone as he looked over at Ness.

-He should be fine. He’s still breathing. So, I’ll need you to take him back through the portal- I slowly stood up while looking up at her. -By the way, thank you for the plan, I’m surprised you knew about this-

-Well, I had already fought something like this once before. Although, I’d much rather not talk about it that much- She said this with a tone of concern as she went down to pick up Ness and carry him back into the portal -Also, I’m sorry about how I acted towards you. Being completely honest, I would’ve done the same thing you did- She said this right before crossing the portal.

Mark went into the portal right behind her -Good job Colin- Again, said with the monotone voice.

I started to walk towards the portal, crossing over the place where the Cerhydra fell in combat. Right before I crossed the portal, I turned back once more to see the spot where it had fallen. A purple fire had started where it fell, but seemed to be dying down slowly, leaving a scorch mark on the floor. It didn't seem like it would stick long, but some of the ground seemed to have turned into... sand? I honestly did not know what this all meant, but it seemed to be the start of something bigger

END OF CHAPTER 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I've done from this series. Hope you enjoyed it


	8. The Fifth Mission (Part ½)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After 4 missions, the team was called a fifth fay for a mission far more dangerous than the rest... what new encounter shall they meet now

****

Four days passed as we continued to do missions throughout them. I won’t talk about them since they’re not as interesting. We haven’t told Ness I was the first one to check on him, Mark still hasn’t opened to us, Martha and I still have the same attitude. But, every time after a mission, the same thing has happened. The monster disappears, only leaving that same sign on the floor. It’s been crawling in the back of my mind, since I’m commonly the last one to see it. There was one time where Ness also saw it, but he only thought it was a burn mark. After each mission, I went over to my room, thinking over the symbol, without anything coming into my mind.

As usual, I woke up inside the replica of my room, not spending a lot of time in it before going over to the briefing room. Everyone had gotten there before me, so I just sat in the same spot as before, crossing my legs as I did

-Good morning Colin. Glad you could make it. – Martel said this as she stood once again in the middle of the room, prepared to brief us on our next mission – Now, today, your mission will be a lot more dangerous than your previous missions. A mysterious figure has been recently going around different areas of the middle of Africa, devastating various cities and villages. He hasn’t seemed to have killed any civilians, but it does seem like the areas are completely devastated, to the point where they cannot be fixed. - She got off the pad, allowing us to use it – Just be careful guys, this could be tough –

-If Colin doesn’t get in the way, everything should be fine- Ness said this with a smirk on his face, as he stood up to enter the pad, disappearing almost instantly

Mark went in after him without saying a word, his armor still on.

-Well then, see you in the battlefield Colin- Martha went in after saying this with a joyful tone on her voice

-Martel, you better have not sent us to a death trap- I say this before going into the pad with a cocky tone in my voice.

Compared to our last missions, the setting we got to did not feel like it had life. For miles and miles, only a wasteland could be seen, nothing but sand anywhere, but not like a dessert. It seemed desolate from any type of life.

I turned around to see all my partners. They all seemed the same way as me, surprised by the state of the land we were standing on, as they looked from side to side

-The land is dead- Mark said this with a neutral tone of voice as he looked around -Everything has had its life sucked out-

-Is this really the work of the person we’re trying to catch? – Martha said this with a scared tone in her voice, trembling slowly as she looked around.

-Seems like it… because he’s coming right back- Ness said this as he pointed up in his direction, clearly trembling in fear.

Everyone turned in his direction, to then see a silhouette starting to form in a distant sand storm, a man with long hair, which flowed easily in the wind. As he got out of the storm, his face showed to have a mask on it, almost like a mime mask, with a leather jacket showing to be worn, with a black t-shirt under it, and some jeans with him. Once he got closer, a bracelet appeared on his hand, almost like my SoulCrash bracelet, but it had a darker color scheme.

-Seems like not everyone got out of here on time… and I had advised them to… oh well, this will give me much more energy than what I needed- He was slowly going to lift up his hand, until he analyzed us fully, moving his head in the direction of our pieces, to which he slowly lowered his hand back down, placing his hand over his face to then start laughing maniacally

-What’s so funny? - I said this as I tried to keep my composure, looking over at him while going one step forward.

-So you’re the ones she warned me about huh? – He said this as he continued to laugh -For someone as dangerous as she made it seem, you seem like such a bunch of kids-

-Hey! Watch your mouth! - Ness said this with an angry tone in his voice as he started to run towards him, putting his helmet on to start spinning to launch the lasers from his helmet -Spin and rip bitch-

Our enemy continued to laugh as he walked through the lasers, as he grabbed Ness from his helmet, stopping him dead in his tracks -Don’t make me laugh kid, you’re nothing against me if that’s the type of attacks you’re going to use- He stopped laughing for a bit as he lifted him up, to then crash him headfirst into the floor, making a crater appear in the sand around him. He proceeded to let go of him, to then turn his head back towards us -Now, playtime is over… Who’s next? – He said this with the same cocky tone as I did, as he looked towards us

Mark slowly stood up in front of us, taking the same stance he took when the Cerhydra attacked -Impenetrable Defense- The same barrier as that time appeared in front of us

-Oh, so he’s a defense tank huh? Oh well, makes sense, with such a strong armor, he shouldn’t make that much damage, and he also protects the ones that are tagged out… but- he disappeared for a moment, quickly appearing behind Mark’s back, punching him hardly to throw him away quickly to Ness’s side -I know fully well about this ability-

Martha slowly stood back, fear showing in her eyes as she slowly walked backwards with fear.

-Huh, seems like the little girl is cowering in fear. Then I guess your next little guy- He then turned his head over to me.

I was scared of course. Both our wall and our little spinning top were knocked out in a second, and our markswoman was scared out of her mind. But, I tried my best to not show it, as I stood straight up at him, taking the double buster out, charging it again with water and thunder.

He then kept his face on my, as if he had been paralyzed for a bit, before coming back to his senses -That’s an interesting weapon you’re carrying there… it rings a memory, but I do not know which… but, if you really need a weapon to beat me, then you stand no chance- He then proceeded to try and strike me with a punch, the same as he did with Mark

-Ghastly Illusion- I said this in a whispering volume, to make him miss his attack before it impacted, the attack going right through me as I jumped up to hit him with the blunt part of my water blade

He moved his head with the recoil, but slowly turned it back, laughing a bit -Well, won’t you look at that, one of you managed to hit me. I’m surprised. And is that a Sylph ability I see? You’re interesting I must say… but- As he said this, he lifted his hand up slowly, a shadowy hand appearing from his arm as it grabbed me by the neck – Hunters were born for people like you in mind- He held me up in the air with a tone of pleasure in his voice – Now then, would you like to die of suffocation, or would you rather die like your friend with the helmet? – He said this with the cocky tone in his voice coming back

-How… about… none? – I said this in between breaths as I lifted my arm once again to strike him with the thunder part of my blade, hitting this time with the sharp part. As I did, the lightning quickly crossed through his head, making him fall, letting go of me, making me fall on my knees as I struggled to regain my breathing.

Martha quickly ran back towards me, grabbing me from my back – H-hey, are you alright? – She said this with a worried tone as she looked at my face

-Yeah, I’m fine… but, I don’t think this is done yet-

-What do you mean? -

-Do you really think that a person who one shot both our wall and our brains would fall to something as meaningless as that? - I said this as I begun to stand up slowly, straightening myself back into shape. -You should go check on Mark and Ness… this fight is far from over-

END OF CHAPTER 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First two parter in the series. I hope this keeps you hooked as I work on a different project for a while.


	9. Fifth Mission (Part 2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The enemy has been knocked, but is still not fully out. A fight is still about to go through. What secrets will be revealed during this battle?

Martha quickly proceeded to run towards Ness and Mark, separating them and laying them side by side, treating their wounds as quickly as possible

-They don’t seem to be badly injured, but they’re breathing is unsteady. Just try to be careful with the battle and don’t send anything this way- She said this as she looked over them slowly, taking some rags out her boots to cover their wounds quickly.

-Okay, that won’t be much of a problem- I say this with a confident tone, as I used the bracelet to create a tiny black sphere, hiding it under the sand to then grab the leg of our attacker quickly, throwing him in the opposite side of the rest of the team, running after him quickly -Take care of them while I fight him-

-Are you going to be okay? - She shouted this at me as I continued to run.

-I don’t know! - I said this last part with a confident tone in my voice as I headed over to where the attacker had fallen.

When I arrived, he was nowhere to be seen, but, after a few minutes, a maniacal laughter started to sound, resonating all around me, making it impossible to find his location

-Well I’ll be dammed, you got me right in the head kid- When he said this, a sandstorm slowly started to stir up around me -You got lucky. But, that same luck won’t strike twice in a row- As he said this a great black glow appeared in front of my current position, almost blinding me, as I heard him scream, in great volume -Armis Iocus! -

After the glow went away, I slowly opened my eyes, looking towards the origin of the glow, as a being in armor appeared. The armor had a dark grey tone to its color, making it noticeable even with the sandstorm kicking in. It possessed spikes, covering its different joints, while still looking like a Dragoon armor. The main material was unknown to me, but it seemed to move freely with the sandstorm, like a type of cloth. All the armor seemed to have the same color scheme, except for one part. On top of his helmet, there was the same sign I had seen throughout our missions. I immediately got into my normal fighting stance, while taking out the double buster. He then proceeded to laugh in a high volume as he looked over at me -You really think that puny trick is going to work twice on me?! Don’t even think about it! – As he said this he rushed towards me, kicking me over the head strongly, launching me over to my left. As I landed, I slowly started to lift myself up, cracking my neck to put it back into position

-That’ll hurt a lot more tomorrow- Of course, that still hurt like all hell, but I tried to contain my pain as I kept looking over in his general direction. -Ghastly illusion- I activated it again, since I already knew he had hunter abilities, it was as simple as being careful and acting around them. I then quickly started to run towards him, carrying my buster in my right hand, as I slowly started to create a shield in my left, holding it up against him

-You really think a shield like that will protect you from my attacks?! Think once more! – As he said this, he then started to run towards me, extending his right arm to his side, as a dark aura slowly started to cover it.

We got close to each other, as he continued lifting his arm up, his hand went through the shield due to the ghastly illusion. Once I saw that it did, I quickly jumped over him, making the shield solid once again, as I twisted his arm right over his head, making him fall back. I then reactivated the Ghastly Illusion once more to get his arm out of my shield, making him lay down once again.

He lifted himself up once more, straightening his arm as he did, looking back at me -So you do have a bit of intelligence in you. Well then, at least I know that I have a knowledgeable opponent in front of me. But, well, not like it’ll matter once I’m done with you- As he said this, the place where his eyes were supposed to be took a light purple glow for a second, as 5 copies of him slowly started to appear by his sides -Shadows of the Storm! – He said this as they started to appear, all of them carrying different types of weapons. One a hammer, another a rapier, another a broadsword, another a longsword, another a scythe, and the original was carrying… a double buster, charged with fire and ice.

 

Ability Description: Shadows of the storm

This is a simple ability. The hunter uses the materials from any type of storm in which he is in and condenses it into his own copies. The strength of each copy depends on how much of the material is used in each copy, along with which weapons are given to them

 

I trembled a bit in sight of the last one, gasping under my breath, as I decided to speak up -Where… where did you get that sword…- I said this with a stutter on my voice as I walked back a bit, keeping my eyes on the last one

-Oh, you mean this piece of junk? - He said this while laughing, lifting the double buster -I do not know where it came from… but, with the stories my boss told me, it seems like I killed someone to get it- He said this last part, lifting his head up slowly, as if he was smiling

Life slowly went out of my eyes, as tears started to form on my eyes, as I gritted my teeth, to then look at him with an angry expression on my face -You… you… you bastard! – After saying this. I launched myself at the copy with the double buster, clashing both of our blades -Ghastly Illusion! - I said this, only affecting my body and not the sword, protecting myself from the strikes of the copies, as I continued to hit the one with the blade, time and time again, with anger in each of my strikes, as I tried to hit his head with as much strength as I could.

-Ha! Lost sight of the truth, huh? Do you really think that an attack like that is going to work on me, after everything that I have managed to do to you!? – As he said this, he let go of his sword to grab me once again with the shadow hand, lifting me off the ground - You really are a pest, you know?! You hear one thing and immediately lose all control of yourself. I can’t believe I saw you as a worthy adversary.

I continued to strike, even as he was holding me, losing more oxygen that what I could afford. I slowly began to lose consciousness, my eyes clouding up as I continued to strike him. Having the Illusion did not make the situation better as it began to falter.

As I was about to lose it, I begun to hear a voice inside of my head, calling to me… I paid no attention to it the first times I heard it, but as I was about to go, I stopped everything, using my last strength to listen to it

-So, you really want it to end that way, do you? Are you really going to give everything up just because someone told you that? –

-What do you know… you’re just a delusion-

-I might be… but, I know what you think and know, and you know in your soul that he is still alive… do you really want to give that minuscule chance of it being true, after what you promised your parents? -

-…-

-You are not going to manage anything if you stay silent… plus, you still have one more ability, remember? The one you took from me? -

-I said I was never going to use it-

-Yeah, well, desperate situations call for desperate measures-

-You really want me to go on, do you… James? -

-Well, yeah, I do… plus, you know you still have hope when you’re listening to me-

-He… I guess you’re right-

-Now, go on him, and kick some ass bro-

After the last words, I quickly opened my eyes, as a blue aura slowly began to cover me, making me slip right through his grip, as I got a determined expression on my face

-What the hell? - He said this with a confused tone as he took his hand back to his blade, walking back slowly.

-You said it yourself, I lost control of my thoughts…. It’s time to go back once more. - I said this with a cocky tone in my voice, as looked over to him, my eyes slowly started to change color with the aura -Meet the true strength of a Sylph- The blue aura fully covered me, as it began to glow, my eyes fully changing, one taking a dark blue color, and the other taking a deep black color – Power Overdrive! –

 

Ability Description: Power Overdrive

When a Sylph possesses the energy of himself and a different Sylph inside of him, this brings out the true strength of one, appearing as a blue aura around the user. When this is done, all of the clothes, and even the hair of the user flow as if they were in water in a natural manner, with the eyes of the user taking different colors, one with a dark blue tone, representing the original soul, and either red, green, or black, depending on how the other person’s soul was before the absorption. The strength of the user is also increased, with a 4x multiplier to the user’s the original strength, along with increasing his natural speed, and his perception. It can also boost some of the user’s main abilities. The one bad part about this is that the user loses some of his control, along with not feeling any pain. This could help in some situations, but it can also bring a lot more pain later, once those go away and all of his wounds and broken bones start to send all of the pain.

 

He griped on tightly onto his sword as he continued to look over at me, trembling a bit while keeping his composure -So, this is almost your full power, huh? Now this is getting interesting. Well, what are you waiting for. Stri-

As he was about to mutter his last word, I threw my sword quickly to my side, to then launch over to him, punching him quickly in the stomach. The strike was enough to dent his armor without breaking, as I lifted my head up, still smiling -So, you said once before that you considered me a worthy opponent, correct? Well, it’s time to fulfil that expectation- After saying it, I jumped up quickly and kicked him launching him over to my right side. As his concentration was lost, all his clones disappeared, as I quickly ran over to him to catch his trajectory with a downwards strike on his head, making him land almost instantly, while making a small crater in his landing spot.

He tried to lift himself up from the floor, coughing a bit, with some blood coming out of his helmet. He slowly stood up, balancing a bit as he turned his head over to me -N… not bad kiddo… but you’re going to have to try harder! – As he said this, he launched himself over to me, preparing to strike my head with the sharpened part of his blade.

-You know, my brother’s sword originally confused me. Ice and fire are not elements that synergize well with each other. But, after some time of analyzing it, I finally saw what could be done with it- I said this with an upbeat tone as I hit his wrist to then take the sword away from him -Tornadoes form from the clash between hot and cold air. And these are the perfect elements for that! – I jumped into the air, separating both blades from each other as I got over him, spinning each of the swords in a clock wise and counter clockwise motions between them, hitting him from above with a surging tornado - Slice and dice! – The tornado fully enclosed him, as I heard the winds clashing against his armor… but, after a few seconds of my attack, his arm surged from under the tornado, grabbing both blades and throwing me off them.

He started to laugh maniacally as he took back control of the swords, joining them back together as I landed on the ground, rolling a bit in the dead sand. I lifted myself up quickly as I looked over to him, my hands slowly starting to bleed from all the hits I did onto his armor. As he finished laughing, he looked back over to me, taking his helmet off, while still carrying his mask, which had chipped a bit during the battle, showing his forehead, while still hiding his eyes and mouth. He then started to talk once more, as he left the sword on the ground, lifting his hand up a bit as a dark red aura started to cover his hand

-I got to admit, you put up a pretty good fight. I did not expect you to hit me in the manner you did. But clearly, you’re not yet at full strength. But, honestly, as much as I’d like to kill you right now and just go for your friends, your potential interests me- He then got out of sight, disappearing completely. Not even his voice sounded. He had completely banished…

I slowly began deactivating the Power Overdrive, falling on my knees from the pain that was now kicking in. I clearly broke all the bones in my hands from all those punches, bleeding from the inside from the strength as I started to walk back towards the place where the rest of the team was, as I lost sight from time to time from the pain, calming down as I got back there. Losing consciousness when I got to their side. The last thing I saw before fainting was Martha carrying Ness’s arm over his shoulder, with Mark standing up by their side, all of them being almost back to full strength, with their eyes darkening as I fainted in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy another extra long chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it


	10. Anima Daemonium (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission without Colin, with a rival of the same caliber as the last. How will the team handle this desperate situation

Before you ask, they told me about what happened two days after my fight with the armored person.

After the mission was over, I was taken to the hospital ward in the base, having most of the team checking up on me. Mostly Martel, due to needing to taking care of the bracelet. Following her was Martha, which felt weird, we hadn’t interacted too much until that point. Mark only visited once during my stay there. He was still very awkward to talk to, and honestly, I did not see him as being very open to us yet. And Ness never visited me, that was obvious to me. But well, let me just continue before I start getting boring. One day before I woke up, the whole team got called up on a mission, almost the same as the one that got me in the knocked-out state. There seemed to be the same kind of attack on a city in the middle of Russia, but, unlike last time, various civilians were killed, cities were flattened, without any type of remains of said cities. Most of the team agreed with it, but Martha still doubted if it would be good to go without me, who she already knew, was the only one that was able to keep back a person like that. Neither the less, she went in along with the rest of the team

When they arrived, no matter where they looked, roads, stones, grass, everything seemed to be in a state of chaos, if there even was. Even the soil seemed to be dull and lifeless. The sound of explosions kept sounding all around them, as various clouds of smoke appeared in the distance. All the team walked in that direction as they spoke

-So, do we have a plan? - Martha said this with a worried tone in her voice, as she looked over in Ness’s direction – Tell me you do have a plan Ness –

\- Oh, come on, we don’t need a plan. If we keep our guard, something like last time shouldn’t happen again- Ness said this with a convinced tone, laughing cockily as he walked

Martha quickly launched herself towards Ness, punching his cheek strongly, throwing him onto the ground with it -Oh, like last time, where if you didn’t have that helmet!? –

-Oh, come on! The three of us know that was a lucky strike out of him, if I had known, I could’ve probably beaten him right there – Ness said this rubbing his cheek as he stood up from the strike, looking at her – Plus, it’s not like Colin did any better. In fact, I would say he even did worse due to his current state –

\- Don’t you dare speak badly of him! He was the only one of us that got to get some damage into him –

-Oh, I’m sorry, did I speak badly of your prince in shining jacket? Because up to where I know, you weren’t even there for most of the fight, frightful cat – Ness said this in a tone of anger, looking over at Martha, his eyes burning

\- Oh, is the mindless child speaking up? Because that’s all I can see here- Martha shouted this at the top of her lungs as she looked at Ness, making her bow appear, pointing it towards Ness’s head

-Guys, you should probably stop- Mark said this in a monotone voice, but, seemed a bit worried as he did, his head turning up slowly

-And now the eternal wall tries to interfere in our discussion- Ness said this as his helmet slowly started to turn red.

-No, guys, I’m serious about this-

-Mark, do not interfere in this- Martha said this as she charged up her bow, pointing it at Ness’s head

-So, the team that almost got 022 was organized like this? Man, he must be our weakest member! – A female voice shouted this from afar, making Ness and Martha turn their heads toward their heads in that direction. Up in the air, a female form, fully covered in armor, holding a gigantic energy sphere over her head was preparing to attack the team – Take this! Blast of Chaos! – As she shouted this, she launched the sphere, having it travel quickly towards them, exploding as soon as it touched the ground in front of them.

After the flash disappeared, Martha and Ness uncovered their eyes, seeing Mark in front of them, covering them from the blast, his armor slightly broken, but still in one piece, his Impenetrable Defense up – I’m not always be here to save your ass guys, so you better get up and fight against the enemy! – As he said this, the smoke cleared, making them able to see their enemy, as she slowly descended onto the ground.

-So, I see that he wasn’t lying about you having a wall to save you from any attack. But… - Just like before, she quickly changed her position, appearing behind Mark, punching him quickly by the neck, with a very audible snap sound occurring as he fell. -He still went down easily… Now, how about I deal with you pieces of shit? – She then quickly pulled out a rapier from out of her boots, which had a very similar look to the SoulCrash Boots that Martha had, except, like the rest of her armor, had a darker set of colors on it. -Now then… who wants to dance first? – She said this as she lifted her rapier in front of her, turning it towards us

Ness quickly stood up and launched himself towards her, taking out a knife from under his helmet – Oh, shut up, as if you’re going to manage anything against us –

She chuckled with a cocky tone, looking at Ness as she swung her rapier at him, a gust of wind appearing from it and striking him down to the ground, to then strike her rapier down on his clothes, keeping him on the ground -Man, you ARE the hothead 022 mentioned when he returned. You were easy to deal with… now, how about I deal with your pretty, little teammate there? – As she said this, she slowly started to walk towards Martha, taking out one more rapier from outside of her boots.

Martha then lifted her bow up, pointing it toward her enemy -How about, before you start attacking, you tell me exactly who you are? – She said this with a trembling tone in her voice, trying to stand her ground

-Well, I guess it won’t matter much since you’ll all die this instant- She stopped in her tracks, her helmet disappearing from her head, showing a short bowl cut on her hair, which had a red and blue spiral color to it, her eyes having those same two colors, her lips painted black, as she turned her head towards her with a cocky look – My name is Iris Marika, and, in the name of Anima Daemonium, I will strike you down easily –

END OF CHAPTER 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending it with a cliffhanger, even after all the wait for this chapter. But I really hope you enjoyed this new chapter


	11. Anima Daemonium (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight between Iris and Martha is about to start. Who will win? And what new abilities will be learned from this battle

Martha stood back a little, still pointing her bow towards Iris, trying to stand her ground -Anima Daemonium? What even is that? Must be something old if you’re using a name in Latin- She said this with a cocky tone in her voice, to then start walking back towards Iris

-It might be old, but! - Iris shouted this in a low volume, disappearing almost immediately, to then reappear behind Martha, kicking her quickly on the right temple, throwing her to the left side.

Martha landed, rolling along the ground with the impact. The boot in that girl’s armor pierced her head a bit, making her start bleeding, but she somehow managed to stand up, spitting a bit to the side to then turn her head against Iris once more -Is that all you’ve got?! Then let me show you my strength! – She said this, not sure about what she was going to do, as she slowly started to pull one arrow back, charging up what was currently her strongest ability.

As she charged her bow, behind her, hundreds of tiny blue arrows started to appear, all pointing towards Iris. As the seconds passed, the arrows turned to thousands, millions, even billions, until the main arrow stopped moving. As she charged this, Iris stood across her with her arms open, she still hadn’t put her helmet on, so a smile was visible on her face, with a maniacal look on her eyes as she looked forward -HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! COME ON, FIRE AWAY! –

Martha steadied her breath, closing her eyes for a bit to then look forward, her eyes fully on her target, as she let go of her arrow, shouting at the top of her lungs -PIERCE THE HEAVENS, SOUL ARROW! – As soon as the first arrow hit the target, the rest of the arrows followed it, crashing into Iris, making a giant sand cloud appear due to the force of the impact getting to the floor, each making a tiny crater.

Ability description

Soul Arrow

This is mostly a Sylph ability, but has traces of Hunter instinct for the force. As a bow and arrow user charges up, by using a lot of their energy, around 80% of it, they can summon many spiritual arrows behind them. The amount depends on the will of the user as they charge up the arrow, going up to a quintillion arrows. Once they’re shot, the user needs some time to calm down due to the energy consumption.

After the final arrow hit, Martha fell on the floor, holding herself on her knees and hands, panting heavily, still holding her bow in her left hand as she looked over at the gigantic dust cloud. It had slowly started to fade, showing what was left from the attack. A silhouette started to show up, and once the smoke fully cleared out, it was seen that Iris was still standing, but her armor was heavily chipped, some parts cracked, but besides that, it was complete. A laugh from her side could be easily heard, as she started to walk forward. The ground beneath her had turned into a gigantic crater, having at least a radius of 10 meters.

-Well, I’ve got to admit, I’m surprised as to how much a support piece could damage me. But you clearly aren’t strong enough to defeat me. And it doesn’t help that any of you know how to activate your armors- She said this as she continued to walk towards Martha, taking out her rapier once more as she got right in front of her, pointing the rapier towards Martha’s neck. -But, playtime’s over, and, unlike my dear comrade, I’m not merciful… DIE!-  She shouted this last part swinging the rapier quickly in an attempt to decapitate Martha.

As the rapier closed in, in a split second, the whole blade of the rapier being fully broken off. After seeing this, Iris quickly jumped away from Martha, throwing away the hilt of her rapier while taking out a new one – What the hell? How did she break that? – After saying this, Martha slowly started to laugh just like Iris before, as she slowly stood on her spot.

-Now who’s the scared one you little shit? – She said this as flames slowly started to sprout around her. Her voice now had a double tone to it, one of her usual voice, but, along with it, a deep demonic voice sounded along with it – Well, now, let’s see how you deal with this! Flammam regis inuidiae! – After saying this, 3 flame pillars surrounded her, to then turn into 3 fine strips of fire, going all around her.

Ability description:

Flammam regis inuidiae (Translated: Flames of Hatred)

This is a demonic ability. The user is surrounded by various flames, depending on how much of his/her power wants to be used, the maximum being 3. These flames serve as a close-up attack, burning anyone that meets them. They can also be concentrated in one spot of the body for the highest protection, or for the most powerful attack. While they’re separated, they also protect from attacks, if there’s always a flame close to the attack. With this, if few flames are used, it cannot defend the attack fully, or may not even protect from all the attack, but, with extreme care, this can be an almost impenetrable defense.

-Who the hell are you?! –

-Oh, you don’t even want to know what I’m capable of, you’d be scared – Martha said this in a cocky tone, to then start running towards Iris, the flames spinning all around her as she got close to her.

-Oh really!? Then fight! – She said this with an excited tone, as she started pulling out various amounts of rapiers, striking against Martha. But the flames covered all the attacks, breaking all the different rapiers as they came out of Iris.

Iris quickly jumped back, taking out a cannon with 3 different outputs for missiles. – Okay then, time for you to die! – She quickly launched all the missiles, striking Martha at three different points, or so it seemed. Before the missiles exploded, the flames grabbed all of them, throwing them back against Iris. Once all the smoke from the explosions dispersed, all of the armor in Iris had been broken off, showing all of her clothes still under her armor, while still standing, trembling a bit. The only part that hadn’t broken were the boots. She hung over, her arms in front of her, with her head pointed down. As she started to laugh once more, each time in a higher and higher volume

-Now this, THIS, is the kind of fight I was expecting! – She quickly started to run towards Martha, taking out one big broadsword, preparing herself to strike down – But, playtime is OVER! –

Right before she hit, Martha (?) concentrated the flames into her right hand, to then hit Iris’s face with the concentrated flames – Phoenix Punch – as she said this, the flames burst, exploding the bit with her left eye, only that part, concaving it fully, making her fall unconscious.

She looked over at the body, laughing a bit -These are our enemies? What a fucking joke – She then grabbed her head in pain, as she shook for a bit, looking around after a bit

-W-what happened? Did I black out for a bit- Her voice was back to normal, as the flames disappeared from around her, shaking her head a bit, to then shriek a bit after looking at the body, running away slowly -W-What the hell happened here?! Did… did I do that?! – She then ran away quickly towards where the rest of the team was, seeing that the portal to return had opened. The mission was over… but, at what cost? What happened during the mission?

END OF CHAPTER 11

… wait, but how do I know this if she blacked out… did that… how do I know about that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is there for a reason


	12. The Crimson King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second to last member of Anima Daemonium will show himself. Will he be the same of the same caliber as the other two? Or will he be much stronger than the rest

A week passed after that last mission, I was starting to show signs of getting up, but my body was still asleep. The team had fully asked Martha about what happened during the mission, but nothing seemed to come out of it, since she didn’t remember how she injured Iris after her tiny blackout. And the attacks seemed to have stopped for a bit, even if there were new sightings of attacks, none of them were made by people like the ones of the two previous missions, only being disposable monsters that were easily defeated.

-So, what do we do now? – Ness asked this as he was sitting down on the circular couch.

-You do know the training room is here? You should probably go train just so you’re not owned by the next person we go on a mission to defeat- Martha said this as she walked around the room, playing with her fingers lightly

-Oh, come on! I’m not really that badly beaten by them-

-Well, let’s see, the first beast we fought beat you in one hit of its paw, the first enemy from Anima Daemonium knocked you heavily into the ground, and if it wasn’t for that helmet you would’ve probably died, and the most recent one put you out by keeping you on the ground with a rapier of all possible swords- Martha said this with a soft chuckle with the last part, clapping her hands a bit

-Those are some valid points from her Ness, maybe you should train- Mark said this as he stood in the corner, his armor fully repaired from last mission.

-Look, I’ll show you, I have a new strategy for the next enemy that drops. Since we already met the bracelet and the boots, the next one will be between the helmet and the chest plate, and I have a plan for either of them, so they shouldn’t be much of a problem- He said this with a laugh, crossing his arms in front of him.

-As if. You know, if you keep up like this, you might end up being the weakest of the team in terms of both offense and defense- This was said by Martha as she kept walking around the room

-Oh really? Says who? -

-Well, that is obvious. Up until this point, your attacks have been nothing but flashy. But in terms of how strong they are, they aren’t quick enough to make enough damage to your opponent, and you don’t compensate that with them having raw strength. Meanwhile, Colin did show his capabilities with the fight against the Masked Bracelet, even if Mark hasn’t shown his true strength, his defensive properties have been shown to stop the Masked Bracelet, which up until now had the strongest attack out of all the enemies we have faced, and I have the “allegedly” Demonic Form that you saw destroy Iris- Martha said this with a calm tone in her voice as she landed herself on the couch, laying down on it.

-Ness, really, go train, before we head ou- Mark was silenced by the sound of the alarms, as the next objective appeared on the map, this time marking the appearance of an Anima Daemonium member.

-Well, there’s no time now, is there? – Ness said this with an exited tone as he ran towards the teleporter, jumping in quickly to disappear into the location.

He was followed by Mark, who walked slowly towards the teleporter -I don’t think this will end well for him, what do you think? -

-I’m thinking the same. How much do you bet that he’s already trying to find the enemy, or trying to fight him? -

-20$ Dollars-

-Deal-

Mark chuckled lightly, which was a first for him during this whole time of the team being together. I kind of regret not being there when he did that, but I was still knocked out cold, so I didn’t get to see it.

Mark entered the portal after Ness, Martha following him closely behind. This time, the area of fight was… different, since, as they walked out of the portal, they seemed to be walking on top of the ocean. It didn’t matter where they turned their heads, there was just the vastness of the ocean surrounding them. It looked astonishing. The waves moving under them without any water touching their feet, the sounds of faraway waves, and, off in the distance, the fins of dolphins and sharks could be seen, the different species being on opposite sides. But, the one thing that couldn’t be seen in any direction, was any sign of either Ness, or their next enemy.

They walked around the water for a while, shouting out Ness’s name to no avail. After walking a while, they noticed under them that the water was sometimes moving sporadically, as if there were explosions underwater, each getting more intense than the last.

-Hey, I think we should move away- Mark said this as he slowly started to run far from the explosions

-Yeah, I think I know what you mean- Martha said this as she also jumped away from the explosion, activating the Flames of Hatred as she fell, only managing to pull one out

After one of the bigger explosions, the ocean sat still for a while, to then have someone jumping out of the water, holding someone in its hand. That someone being held of course was Ness. He was struggling on the grip of his holder, but he was grabbed tightly. The one who was holding him, a person in an armor like that of Mark’s armor, but bigger, and in a darker color scheme. He turned his head around as he lifted Ness. He chuckled heavily after seeing both Mark and Martha

-So, the little rat brought some friends. I must say, I’m quite impressed, I expected him to last less than what he did based on what my partners told me – He then quickly turned his head towards Martha -And I watched a lot of your fight with Iris, you’ll be interesting to fight… although, didn’t you have more flames? -

-I do not know how to control them, I can only summon one- Martha said this with an angry tone in her voice as she looked up at the new enemy

-Huh, that’s weird, it seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing back against her with those flames of you. Oh well, doesn’t take out the fact that this will make for an interesting battle-

-How about you just tell us who you are so we can kick your ass before it becomes late?! – Surprisingly, Mark was the one that asked this question

-Oh, are you finally starting to open to us? Well, that would be good, if it wasn’t for the fact that WE’RE IN TROUBLE! – Ness shouted this as he continued to struggle to get off the grip of his holder

-Man, you really are annoying- The person in armor then removed his grip from Ness, to then descend back onto the ground, taking of his helmet in the way down, revealing another mask, like that of the first member of Anima Daemonium they fought. -But, unlike him, I will tell you who I am… although, not by my real name, but rather, my title. My team, they know me as the Crimson King, the team leader of Anima Daemonium, the one bearing the Chest plate- He then slowly took off his mask, letting all his hair fall back, showing itself as a bowl cut. His eyes tainted red on the iris, with a large scar across the right side of his lip.

\- Crimson King huh? That sounds pretty ballsy of you to be calling yourself a King – Martha said this with a snarky tone on her voice as she looked up at her.

-No, Martha, he’s not joking, he really is strong, don’t taunt him! – Ness said this with a scared tone in his voice as he tried to crawl away, to then have various swords land all around him in an oval shape, almost perfectly to stop any type of movement.

-Yeah, believe him, he tried with all his might and he found no way to attack me fully- The Crimson King laughed after saying this as he started to walk forward until he was right in between Martha and Mark, extending his arms outwards -Well then, how about we start this battle? –

Martha was the first one to attack, charging her flame into her fist to then attack directly into his head -Low Level! Phoenix Punch! – A small pillar of flame sprouted from her hand, as she tried to at least burn half of his face, but, after the flame went back to her, his face seemed unscathed, besides a few scratches from the punch, which didn’t take long to heal.

-I must say, that was a pretty weak hit, I was expecting more out of you… now, it’s my turn- He quickly materialized a bat, taking it out of one of the sleeves of his armor, to quickly swing it at the right side of Martha’s chest, launching her far to the left in a manner of seconds. The flame shielded most of the damage, but since it wasn’t as strong as before, most of the knockback still acted against her – Now that is true strength. Learn it before you think you can face me. Now then, it’s your turn – He looked in Mark’s direction after saying this.

Mark activated impenetrable defense as the Crimson King turned his head towards him to then dash into him with it, pushing into him with it

-You really think a shield like that is going to be able to hurt me?! Don’t make me laugh! – He quickly swung his bat back against Mark, hitting his shield, breaking it completely, which completely stunned Mark in place – Oh wow, so you can’t even sustain damage from the shield breaking? What, is every one of your members this weak? You’re no match for the Crimson King! – He shouted this as he swung his bat once more against Mark, hitting him strongly in the head, cracking half of his helmet and launching him back in the opposite direction, making him roll on the ground as he landed.

Mark laid there for a while before beginning to stand up slowly -Stop speaking all high and mighty as if you were the king of combat. I’ve had more than enough experience to know how to deal with people like you – Mark said this with a tone of struggle on his voice as he continued to stand up, his armor slowly disappearing as the chest plate began to incorporate into his clothes. His body finally revealed itself. His hair was spiky and at a shoulder length with a black and white spiral design on it. His eyes were a light tone of Cyan, with soft white streaks on them. His body was that of an exercising teen, not too lanky, but not too buff. He was wearing a pair of exercise shorts and a black tank top, which had some metallic parts to it due to the combination with the SoulCrash chest plate, with some running shoes on.

-So, you finally show your true self huh? Well, this’ll be interesting- The Crimson King said this with a smile on his face as he held his bat tightly -But, it doesn’t matter, since your friends won’t get to see you –

-And what makes you think that? – Mark said this with a smile on his face as he pointed his hand forward, with one finger out -My friends will always watch my back no matter the situation – His finger then started to glow, a black and white light appearing on it as he launched himself towards him

-Oh really? Then show me your strength! – The Crimson King launched himself towards Mark, holding his bat on his right hand to then swing it once again towards Mark’s head

The bat impacted on to Mark’s forehead while Mark’s finger impacted The Crimson Kings face. Mark slowly began to bleed from the impact, but continued to smile, as the light slowly began to envelop the Crimson King – 1st power, Stabbing Spark – He said this in a low voice as various amounts of swords appeared around the Crimson King, stabbing him all around, paralyzing him on the spot.

Mark slowly walked back, his face covered in the blood from before. He was smiling, looking over at the Crimson King as he began to walk towards the rest of the team -We are not capable of defeating you right now, and I know that those swords didn’t do any damage. But, they will help us escape and get stronger – Mark said this with a calm tone as he picked up both Ness and Martha, each in a different arm -But, when we meet again, you will not come back as unscathed as how you did today.

-Hey! Don’t run away! We’re still not finished! – The Crimson King slowly began to remove the swords from his body, trying to move quickly to stop Mark as the portal back to the base open -Stop! –

But, before he could speak anymore, all the members of SoulCrash that were there disappeared. Back in the base, they looked over at some cameras that were checking the spot where they were fighting. Right after the Crimson King removed all the swords, he shouted greatly, as a crater formed below him on the water, a crater of at least one kilometer of diameter. He was clearly mad, and next time they met was probably not going to be the best.

END OF CHAPTER 12


	13. Colin's Return 1/2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colin finally wakes up, even if his hands still hurt, but what kind of mission could they give the team on the day he finally woke up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a longer than wanted Hiatus, I'm finally back to continue writing this story to not leave it alone.

A week after my fight with the Masked Man, I finally woke up from the deep sleep. I slowly opened my eyes as I sat up slowly on the bed, scratching my head. It took some time before my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the hospital room in the base. I slowly turned my head from side to side, looking around. The room had an absurd amount of white in it, the beds, the curtains, and even the walls were all painted in white, being the shadows the only thing that made me distinguish everything. I slowly tried to stand up, trying to boost myself with my hands before stopping. My hands still hurt heavily from the battle, even if it wasn't as much as before. I continued to stand up without boosting myself, trying to keep my balance. It was hard getting up, I even thought that not a lot of time had passed due to the lingering pain. I tried getting out of the room, but as I was starting to reach the door, I started to hear a voice from the other side, that of Martel. I stayed completely still as I listened to her

"Hey, don't worry, everything is fine, it was just a minor setback. I promise, the team will be ready. It's not like I'm giving up on the dream of finally beating you"

What was she talking about? Was I still dreaming? That sounded as if she was talking about a sports team, which we clearly weren't. The voice faded away as it walked away from the front of the hospital room. I walked out of the room after her voice completely faded away. The hallway was of the same color as the rest of the hallways, but to my right I easily saw the main room entrance. I started walking towards it, not seeing anyone on my way there. I finally entered the room. It had the same brightness as the two times I entered the room before. I quickly jumped onto the couches, finally getting to lay down on something more comfortable than a hospital bed. My hands still hurt like hell, but they were starting to calm down. It was relaxing being in this room, looking at all the walls with the different world views. I was slowly falling back asleep right there, with a smile on my face, before the one of the doors to the main room opened quickly, with the rest if the team walking in.

"God, yesterday was tiring" This was said by Mark, the first one entering the room, with his armor still completely on

"Well, you were the one who defeated our enemy, unlike us, that didn't manage to even scratch him" This was said by Ness with a bummed-out tone, entering the room right after Mark

"Not even the Flames of Hatred worked, I'm surprised you even stopped him" This was said by Martha, who walked in last, closing the door behind her.

"Come on guys, it wasn't that much, no need to talk about it" He said this with a slight laugh as he got close to the couch

"But you were pretty awesome back there" Martha said this as she jumped on to the couch, landing on top of my stomach, causing me to let out a high-pitched shriek

"C-Could you p-please get off me?" I asked this with a slight stutter, to then see all of them jumping away a bit, with a surprised look on all their faces, except for Ness

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up" This was said by Ness in a smug tone, laughing a bit

"Hey Colin, glad to see you awake" Mark said this in a happy tone "Are you feeling alright"

"Well, besides a bit of pain in my stomach and some lingering in my hands, everything seems to be in order" I said this while laughing a bit, turning my head towards Martha 

"I'm sorry about that, if I had known you were there I wouldn't have jumped on it. But at least your finally awake, we were starting to get worried about you" Martha said this while scratching the back of her head slowly with a smile on her face, closing her eyes as she said it

"Oh, come on, I couldn't have been asleep for that long"

"Actually, *Sleeping Beauty*, you were asleep for a week" Ness continued with his smug tone as he said this

"Oh, come on, that can't be true, I mean, my hands still hurt like all hell, so I couldn't have slept for that long"

"Colin, you did sleep that long. Your hands were probably really messed up after the battle and that's why they hurt, but outside of that, we don't know why you slept that long" Martha said this with a tone of worry as she looked over at me.

 I stayed there in silence for a while, trying to process the information I had just received. I tried to keep calm after hearing that, simply answering "Well, uh, how much happened while I was asleep?"

"Well, you better strap on to your seat, because it's kind of long..." Ness said this in a calm tone as he began to sit down, but after some of his silence, the alarm started to sound in a high volume out of nowhere, with the portal opening right in front of us

"Well people, look sharp, a new challenge has appeared today, so let's try to deal with it quickly" Martel's voice resonated within the room through the speakers, as the portal lit up in front of us

"It's mission time. We'll tell you about it later" Mark said this as he jumped right in to the portal, disappearing within seconds, being followed by Ness.

"Well, guess it's time to go back in" I said this as I slowly began to stand up, but as I was doing that, Martha stopped me, setting her left hand on my head and pushing me back down 

"You said you were still hurt Colin. Maybe you should sit this one out" Martha said this with a tone of worry on her voice as she slowly let go

"Hey, who the hell do you think I am? This is nothing for me, I'll be able to manage" I said this with a confident tone as I began to sit up again, Martha stopping me once again

"Colin, please try to understand that if you end up stopping dead due to pain, none of us will be able to help you. The past few enemies have been hard to manage, almost the same as the one who got you knocked out. This is not something you should go about with a happy go lucky tone. Please just sit this one out"

"Look, I'm not staying here for another week. I don't care about the pain, and from what you just told me, you're gonna need as much help as possible. Martha, just trust me, I'll be fine, don't worry about it"

"Ughhhhhh... Colin, listen, we do not know what this new one is capable of. He could be the deadliest of the ones we've faced so far, we could all get hurt heavily. So please just listen and stay"

"When I say no, it's no. If it is the deadliest one, then you are going to need the whole team. You're not going to stop me Martha"

Martha stayed silent for a bit, sighing in annoyance "Fine... but if you do end up getting hurt, don't expect me to help you" After saying this, she jumped into the portal, as I began to stand up once more to go in.

"Let's do this" I said this in a triumphant tone as I jumped right into the portal

The landscape I landed in seemed almost intact, with no signs of any type of chaos nearby. We seemed to be in a bit of a forest area, with city far off to the distance, with a skyscraper so high we could see it from our position, with a river in between us and the city.

“We’re near New York City…” I said this in a calm tone as I looked towards the city “Isn’t that a bit weird? –

“Why is that weird exactly? – Ness said this as a few holograms appeared in front of his helmet, as if he was analyzing something.

“Well, if the enemy that you say is stronger, wouldn’t the city already be in chaos? This is a booming city after all…”

“This is weird… but maybe we just got here ahead of time, before any destruction has started” Mark said this as he began setting up his Impenetrable Defense.

“Then why did the alarm sound? In the mission where I fainted, the destruction was already done”

“So? It was also like that in our last mission, when we fought the Crimson King or some shit” Martha said this as one Flame of Hatred began circling around her. Each person in the team seemed to be concentrated in any direction, with me being the only one that did not know what to do. 

“So, I guess the team got to bond a lot without me here…”

“Nah, not really, each fight ended up just being and individual effort from all of us, while Ness was always being knocked out or immobilized” Martha said this chuckling a bit as she took out her bow slowly, looking around her surroundings

“Yeah, he pretty much was useless” Mark said this with a laugh coming out as he stood completely still, with his arms crossed in front of him.

Ness was getting a bit angry with what was being said about him, as he then spoke up to the rest “It wasn’t like you two were any better. In the first mission Mark was knocked out, and in the second one, Martha went down easily even with that stupid flame of hers”

“Oh yeah, also, what’s up with that flame? Did I miss anything? Because you didn’t have that on the mission I got knocked out.”

“I can’t really explain it… it just came to me after a mission in which I blacked out” Martha said this while shrugging a bit, with Ness speaking right after her

“I still don’t fucking understand how you cannot remember something as badass as that. You burned half the face off the fucking enemy with a single fiery punch” He said this with a surprise tone in his voice.

“But this flame isn’t that strong, I don’t get how I’d be able to do that” Martha said this with a confused tone in her voice as she paralyzed in place seeing into the distance

“Well duh, you had three flames at that time, so clearly you were much stronger back… then…” Ness voice slowly faded away as one of his screens started to show an anomaly nearby, as he then turned his head towards Martha “Hey, uh, guys? I think I found the guy… and so did Martha”

After hearing that, both Mark and I turned our heads in Martha’s direction. Off in a short distance was a small figure in a dark armor, his helmet looking like the one Ness had, just like the mission against the masked assailant, and, as mentioned before, The Crimson King and Iris. He had a few feathers in his hat, all of them standing upright. Around his neck was a scarf of some sorts, flowing in the wind as he walked. His armor seemed to have what seemed to be yellow lines running around it in random patterns, almost spontaneously. He only walked towards us, slowly, while looking around. As he got closer and closer to us, his glare solely focused on us. He slowly began to speak as he got closer.

“Well well well, I did not expect to see you here… normally, you arrive once the chaos has already passed” His voice sounded deep, almost booming for a body of his size. He continued walking towards us, raising his left hand slowly “This is truly the most interesting of situations”

Mark quickly ran in front of us, holding his Impenetrable Defense right in front of us, looking directly towards the enemy “As long as I stand, you shall never get past to the rest! –

“Oh, really? You think I don’t know about you? – He said this with a confident tone, as he slowly began to take out a gallon of water from nowhere – Believe me, I came as prepared as I could be –

Just after he said that, he put a tiny hole into the gallon, which started to drip a few drops of water. He then sent it flying high in our direction, which made Ness run away in precaution. Once it was directly above us, it was completely shredded out of nowhere, making all the water fall right on us, except for Ness. The water didn’t do anything to us, it simply got all of us wet.

“Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? “ I said this with a chuckle in my voice as I looked over our new enemy with a smile on my face “As if a tiny bit of water would damage any of us” After I said this last part, our new enemy just laughed it off as he continued to walk towards us

“Oh, believe me, every single one of my moves is calculated, for I, Iago Guntram, shall subdue all of you under my power” Iago said this with a tone of victory, almost as if he had already won this battle

“Okay guys, try not to lose your cool, Anima Daemonium isn’t something to fuck about, so try and be careful about it” Martha said this while trying to keep calm, her flame just slowly circling around her, slowly evaporating the water off her, but the water seemed to be reappearing “What the hell even is this water?”

“Just something I created in my spare time. It’s an ever-expanding goo while in my presence, which has all the properties of salted water” Iago said this as he stopped in place, kneeling down and placing his right hand over the ground. A few seconds after that, Mark’s Impenetrable Defense faded away quickly, his hands lowering in spasms

“Mark, what are you doing?” I said this in a concerned tone of voice as I turned my head towards him, starting to grip my sword tightly… too tightly “Huh? That’s weird…” I said this with a confused tone as I moved around slightly.

“Seems like it does work. I had my doubts on this theory, but it seems like you won’t be a problem” Iago continued to lay his hand down on the ground, as Mark slowly began to kneel down on the ground with the same spasms

“Guys, I don’t know what’s going on, help…” Mark said this with a worried tone in his voice, trying to move but then resetting back into the kneeling position

Martha was completely paralyzed, her mouth trying to move but staying shut fully, as her body began to kneel slowly

“Okay, th-this is starting to get weird” I said this, stuttering a bit, while holding my double buster, turning my head towards Iago “What the fuck are you doing to us!?”

“Oh, nothing much, do not worry about it” He said this with a cocky tone as he flicked the ground, making a small crater where he flicked “Just the normal stuff I do, experiment” He said this with a creepy tone, almost mad.

“Well, this’ll certainly be interesting” I said this as a smirk started to form on my face, as I readied my sword for combat.

“Oh, someone’s getting active. Let’s see how the beast that almost defeated 022 fares against me” 

“022? Is that how the masked assailant is called?” I said this in a tone of confusion, while chuckling a bit

“Well, he doesn’t remember anything from his past, so we just call him that for convenience” He said this in a bit of a calm tone, extending his arms as he slowly took out a knife that had sparks of lightning coming of it.

“Well, this shall be interesting” I said this with a confident tone as I rushed into him, my blade up high in front of me

END OF CHAPTER 13


	14. Ness's Reality 2/2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colin's fight with Iago doesn't go as expected, Iago's power making the battle harder for him. The only hope the team has left is Ness, but, will he be able to help out? Or will he just bite the dust?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised more continuous updates, but it's hard writing a battle and what powers the villains should have. In fact, Iago, along with the Crimson King, are characters whose powers I'm going to expand, along with 022 and Iris, since the Crimson King didn't really show his powers, and I made Iris into a bit of a masochist (Which isn't what I really wanted out of her) but this chapter, along with the last one I made were probably my favorite to write, and I hope all of you enjoyed them

I lunged myself against Iago, slashing down on him, with him quickly avoiding all my attacks, moving side to side with no problem while I struggle to move as fast as I normally move. His smirk just kept getting wider and wider as I missed my attacks, a laugh starting to come out of him.  
“And you’re supposed to be the strongest one?! Don’t make me laugh! – After saying this, he quickly punched my face, throwing me off balance, but not enough to throw me down. I looked straight at him, holding my sword tightly in my right hand, as I try to stay on my feet, starting my attacks once again. I had to force myself to go at my usual speed, which was starting to hurt me slowly as I started to land a few strikes, but not with enough strength to do any significant damage to him, as my expression started to turn into a face of frustration  
“How are you doing this?! How are you slowing me down?!” I shouted this at him as I continued to force my body’s speed, striking more and more as I went on, my hands starting to hurt more and more as I went on.  
“It’s simple one you understand what I’m doing to all of you. Of course, why would I say it when that would ruin my plan for taking all of you out” Iago said this with a happy tone in his voice as he kicked me directly towards my stomach, pushing me back slightly, making me struggle for breath as continue to stand up, my body almost giving up on me.  
“I will not allow this to end here” As I said this, I slowly activated Power Overdrive once more, the blue aura slowly starting to surround my body, my eyes switching color once more as I went into attacking once again, now finally doing some noticeable damage to him, with cracks appearing on his armor. But, I could still feel my body struggling to move, even with Power Overdrive activated.  
“Now this is starting to get interesting, this is exactly what I've been waiting for” As soon as my last attacked finish, a quick flash of white appeared from his helmet, blinding me for a moment as I missed my next attack. After the flash was gone, Iago’s helmet disappeared once more as he smiled at me. “Now I can finally end this” After he said this, he put his hand directly onto my chest, making his ability clear to me… electricity. When he placed his hand, a spark of electricity passed all throughout my body, making me fall to the ground, paralyzed, as the electricity stayed on the compound that Iago covered us in. I could only turn my head, watching the situation unfold right before my eyes. He slowly walked right towards me, pulling out a knife slowly from under the sleeve of his armor, kneeling right on top of me, pointing the knife right towards my left eye. “Now, I was instructed that if I ended up encountering you guys, I shouldn't kill you, so, since I know that you’re the strongest, I’ll just take you back to our base so that you don’t cause any more problems to us!” He then quickly swung his knife to strike my eye, but right before he got to it, a knife hit his right shoulder, falling back onto the ground due to the armor protecting it, but he stopped his movements, turning his head up “Huh… you? How can you move?!”  
The one who threw the knife was Ness from all the way in the back, the scared look on his face being covered by his helmet, sweat dripping from his face as he reached for another knife, throwing quickly so that it scraped Iago’s face, leaving a cut on it.  
“Cut it out!” Iago quickly launched one of his own knife, but Ness quickly rolled to dodge it, to then start running towards Iago, pulling out a short sword. His breathing was unstable, almost deep breathing with every step as he dodged all of Iago’s knives, to then push him off me, pointing his sword directly to Iago’s throat, holding him in place with his left arm.  
“… Oh… I see the problem… you didn't get wet for my earlier attack, that’s why the electricity isn't affecting you, well then, that hall be an easy fix!” Iago shouted this as another bottle of the same fluid appeared on his arm, trying to crash in right on Ness’s head, but he was held back by Ness’s arm, the tip of the sword starting to dig into his throat, some drops of blood coming out of it as Ness looked directly into his eyes  
“O-one wrong move and you’re finished!” Ness said this, stuttering a bit as he held the short sword towards Iago’s throat, starting to sweat heavily, a worried tone in his voice sounding as he said this.  
“Tall words for someone so weak. You think I haven’t heard from you?” Iago said this in a dominant tone, almost bossy, as if trying to lure Ness away from him “Do you really think YOU can threaten me?!”  
“No… no I don’t… but that won’t stop me from trying!” Ness slowly thrust the sword more into Iago’s neck, more blood starting to come out of the wound on his neck “At this point, I’m the only hope left for the team right now.”  
“Well, I don’t see you using any other type of abilities to try to keep me down!” After saying this, a barrier of electricity came out all around him, covering Ness. But he stayed there, enduring it as he continued to keep Iago down on the ground “This shouldn't take that long to get you away from me!”  
Ness stayed on top of Iago, shouting in pain because of the electricity continuously flowing through his body “I just need a few more seconds!” He then thrusted his sword even more into Iago’s throat, but, just as the tip was about to reach his throat, he passed out, falling to the side of Iago, his breathing alternating between quickly and slowly.  
Iago slowly began to get up, covering his neck to try and stop the blood flow, struggling to talk or move after the huge use of energy and the wound on his neck. But, right as he got up, Mark came into his view, tackling him back onto the ground, beginning to punch his face quickly as Iago’s on the ground, his fist slowly starting to glow as he began to punch him faster and faster. He did not say it at this point, but this was another one of his attacks, 2nd Power, Rampage Flurry.  
Ability Description: 2nd Power, Rampage Flurry  
This is a S̹̹̬͈̦̤̳̑̏̈́ͥ̋ͦ͌h̙̳͍̰̤̞͔̏͆̚y̭̫̤͎̩̻͉͍̽ͬ̍̑u̟͓̥̲͎̙̜͂͑̑̏̋̔͆͞l̉̽͗̏ͫ͡͏̥͍n̮͚̈́ͬ̏͆̊͗ͣp̶͚͕͉̰̬͍̣͕̺̓ͯ̍̅ͫͭt̘͍̺̲̣̘͙̞ͩ̇͠h̙̹̼̖ͣe̵̬̗̩͔̪͍̜̺̠͛̅̇͗͟r͉̻͖̺̯̩̎̉͆̍̄̽ͦ͞͞[File Corrupted] technique. As shown before, it is mostly a punching flurry. It keeps getting stronger and stronger with every punch he deals, but, if he gets hit, all the power will go away.  
After half a minute of Mark continuing to punch Iago, Iago finally fell unconscious, which, along with making Mark stop punching him, finally made all of the electricity and the blobs disappear from our bodies, which allowed me to finally jump up and recover all of my mobility “Fucking finally, I was starting to get stressed with all that electricity shit. Are all of you alright?”  
“Well, Mark seems to be doing fine. I am also doing pretty ok, even if I wasn't able to talk for a while” Martha said this from the back, still trembling a bit, but finally back on her feet “But, I’m not sure if Ness is alright… I think we should probably go back now and get him to the hospital wing”  
“Yeah, I agree, he really took a shock in that last attack. Even I could feel that” Mark said this as he went over to Ness, picking him up as the portal back to base opened, followed by all of us going back.  
After a day of Ness in the hospital wing, he finally woke up, staying in bed for most of the time before we went into the room he was in, greeting him back.  
“Hey Ness, are you feeling okay?” Mark said this as he entered the room, followed by Martha, and then finally me, closing the door behind me, then with all of us sitting around him.  
“Well, I feel a killing headache, I cannot see clearly yet, my body is trembling heavily, and my hands can’t stop shaking under the blanket… yeah, I’m feeling pretty good” Ness said this, his voice trembling, but with a happy tone.  
“Well, at least you’re awake now… but, Ness, why didn't you think of another way of attacking him in another was, I mean, there must've been another way to knock him down without getting in danger” Martha said this in a calm tone, not wanting to anger him.  
“I couldn't… I can’t… there was no other method.” His happy tone went away slowly as he said this, his eyes slowly starting to adjust.  
“What do you mean there was no other method? I mean, abilities are here for a reason, you don’t have to ignore them” I said this with a calm tone, trying to get him to speak.  
“No… you don’t understand”  
“Then explain to us, what can you do?” Martha said this in a dominant tone on her voice…  
Ness stayed silent for a bit, before finally speaking up, a grim tone on his voice “I can’t do anything, I’m… I’m just a human”  
Humans. Those are hard to find currently. Most of the world are sylphs or hunters. The only way that a human could exist is if both of his parents were human, or if only one was and he wasn't trained in his sylph or hunter abilities, or simply did not inherit the genes.  
“Even though I did have a hunter mother, she never really trained me, and after a while I did not have the time to finally get a hunter ability, which means, I’m blank. I cannot do anything… I’m useless” He said this, some tears coming out of his eyes as he said this “I was fine without them until now, which is why I never complained before about it, but now I cannot contain this guilt of not being able to help. That last attack I tried was only as a distraction… I was willing to let myself die just so that bastard couldn't get away, even though I d-don’t know any of you guys, I know that you’re j-just as good without me as y-you’re with me” His eyes fully teared up, his voice cracking at the last part. Seeing him cry hurt, but, it made sense. It doesn't feel right, but I understood why he felt like that…  
“Ness, there’s no need of feeling useless-“As I was saying this, Ness cut me off.  
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO NEED?! DO YOU THINK IT FEELS GOOD BEING LIKE THIS!? DO YOU THINK IT’S NICE NOT BEING ABLE TO HELP?! DO YOU THINK IT’S FINE BEING UNNATURAL BY THIS WORLD’S STANDARDS?!” His tone changed to an angry one, his eyes still tearing up.  
“That is not what I meant-“  
“SHUT UP! THERE’S NO WAY THAT SOMEONE LIKE YOU, THAT CAN BASICALLY TURN INTO A DEMIGOD WHENEVER HE WANTS COULD MAKE ME FEEL BETTER! THERE’S NO WAY THAT MARTHA, WHO CAN BASICALLY TURN INTO A DEMON AND KILL ANYONE WITH A PILLAR OF FIRE MAKE ME FEEL BETTER, AND THERE’S NO WAY THAT SOMEONE WHO CAN PARALIZE ANYONE IN PLACE MAKE ME FEEL BETTER! SO, YOU CAN ALL FUCK OFF!” As he finished saying this, sparks of lightning came out of him, covering all of the room like a shock wave, throwing all of us back.  
After a few seconds of literal shock, Ness quickly looked over himself, his eyes finally adjusted to the world, his trembling going away… he was dumbfounded, his face was slowly going from angry to morbidly surprised “W-what was t-that?! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” He was going crazy, more lightning coming out of him as he put his hands over his head as he tried to keep calm.  
“Ness, calm down, if you keep going like that, you could cause an accident” I said this while slowly standing up, walking towards him in a calm manner  
“How am I going to calm down WHEN LIGHTNING IS COMING OUT OF MY HANDS?!” He shouted this at me, sending a lightning bolt right towards me, shocking me on the spot, but not throwing me back. I kept walking slowly towards him until I was finally close to him, placing my hand on his shoulder, shocking me all throughout my body  
“If you don’t calm down, how are you going to analyze what’s happening to you” I said this in a calm tone, trying to calm him down, using some sylph powers to pass calm thoughts to him. After a few seconds, the lightning finally stopped, with my body finally being able to calm down from all of it before falling on the ground after all those shocks.  
“… what happened to me… what did I just do?” Ness said this as he checked his hands, which were still throwing out some sparks.  
“Well, this might be just a theory, but, maybe the shock affected you deeply, and in some way, infected your hunter genes, reactivating it and giving you some form of electricity powers” I said this in a calm tone, still breathing heavily on the ground  
“It could be a possibility… but, it definitely requires some investigation” Ness said this, laying his head back, a sigh coming out of him “But, shit, why the hell is that I got these powers now?”  
“I guess we’ll find out soon, but, if you need help, just ask, after all, I can kill people with a pillar of fire” Martha said this laughing a bit, and then, all of the room was filled with laughter coming from all of us… it finally felt like a turning point for all of us… this one was probably our first real bonding experience, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.  
END OF CHAPTER 14


	15. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A really odd request, but something that can be done

I woke up to the sound of knocking at my door. It was really early in the morning, so I wasn’t fully awake yet… morning… it’s been a long time since it felt like that. Here on the base we only base ourselves with our clocks, but in reality, we don’t know what it truly is outside. I’d even forgotten how much time has passed since we’ve been here. But, that’s outside the point. Either way, I got up and went to the door, and without opening it, I answered.

“What is it?” I asked this with a somber tone since I was still a bit sleepy

“I know this will probably sound like a prank” Ness was on the other side, clearly awake “But, I need your help one last time”

“Oh… do you need another chunk of skin?” I said this while still half asleep, slowly waking up

“No, no, not with investigations… I need to train” Ness said this in a tone that signaled worry, but he clearly wasn’t joking. That fully woke me up as I answered

“Wait, what? You really want to learn how to use your new powers now?” I was wide awake now, going to quickly change into my usual clothing.

“Like I said, it sounds a bit like a prank, but I’m serious… I want to be of more help to the team. And if I don’t learn how to control this, I’ll never be of use” He still sound worried, but still serious. 

I quickly opened the door, now fully clothed “If you’re serious, then yes, I will help you” 

“Oh, you really would?” Ness said this with a slight tone of happiness in his voice, still a bit worried.

“Look, learning hunter tricks is dangerous. You need someone that’s already trained in this type of stuff. Plus, I could help with something else”

“... thank you” Ness already had his helmet on, but I could sense that he had a smile on his face when he said that. He was ready for this and I did not want to have him hurt himself while learning. He might’ve been an asshole, but he was still part of the team.

We spent almost no time with chit chat and went immediately to the training room, which was a few rooms down mine. Once we got in, the normal part of that room activated, of us not being able to exit for now, the room infinitely expanding as we walked in.

“So, have you kind of gotten the hang of how to turn on your electrical powers?”

“Kind of. I can manifest them throughout my body, kind of like a barrier, but I haven’t gotten the hang of shooting them or doing shit like that”

“Well, just with that you’re already ahead of various others that have gotten their powers late. The manifestation is usually the hardest part, since it’s tied to how much you know about the element, and since you’re tech savvy, manifesting lightning should be a cake walk” I said this with a calm tone as I summoned my double buster “Could you manifest it right now? We shouldn’t take long training in case some mission comes up”

“Oh, sure, no problem” Almost as soon as he finished saying it, I started hearing sparks coming over from his direction. In almost no time, lightning was already going around his body.

“Now, I will not hold back. Since we are mostly in life or death missions, you should really be prepared for anything. Of course, Power Overdrive is out of the question for now, but standard should be fine” I said this with a playful tone as I got into a battle position, holding my buster with both of my hands by my left side.

“Okay, but what else did you want to t-” I cut Ness off from this sentence, quickly slashing in his direction with the water edge of my blade. I made myself slow on purpose just to give Ness enough time to dodge quickly, which he did, jumping back.

“Oh, you’ll see. For now, fight!” Now there was no holding back. I quickly started to slash in his direction, trying to spray water on him with the water edge. He was also pretty quick, being able to dodge most of my strikes, but still getting sprayed quite a bit. Once he was kind of close to me, I made an upwards slash, spraying water in a straight line, and just as I thought, making him jump back into a puddle.

“Is that seriously everything you’ve got? You haven’t even hit me once” Ness said this a bit confused as he looked at me.

“Do you really think that’s it? Have you been analyzing the situation?” Once I said this, he turned to see all of the water around, then had a hit in his mind as I turned my sword and plunged the electric blade into the straight puddle, making electricity run over in his direction

“Oh fuck!” Ness quickly hunched back, expecting a lot of pain just like the one he received back with the Iago fight, but surprisingly feeling nothing, as I expected. “H-huh?”

“Did you really think I would put you through that shit again? Since you have the electrical element manifested, you’re not able to receive any electrical damage” I laughed a bit after saying this as a slight shadow aura started to surround me.

“Okay, that is pretty cool… but, now that I know what you had planned, I can now return it!” After saying this, Ness plopped his hand down on the ground, making the electricity he manifested run through the water. Of course, I expected this to happen, that’s why I had already activated Ghastly Illusion.

“I will give you credit for that counter attack, but, you always need to consider all of your enemies capabilities and abilities. Honestly, I don’t know what kind of abilities a Thunder Hunter has…” As I said this, I appeared right behind him “But, Shadow Hunters are really skilled in stealth” As I said this, a sphere of energy of both light and dark combined appeared on my hand, as I quickly lunged it at him “Dawn Nova!”

 

[ABILITY DESCRIPTION]

Nova

Novas are a weird ability, being able to be used by both Sylphs and Hunters. While Sylphs use it mainly as a means of defense and a last resort, hunters can combine Novas with their native elements, making them range for a deadly weapon, making the elements seep into the victims.

 

The Nova hit Ness back, exploding right on him, as both the light and dark elements seeped into him, hearing him scream in pain. When I heard that, I quickly went to his side, placing both of my hands on his back as he kneeled down in pain on the floor

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Ness said this while wrapping his arms around his stomach, trying to endure the pain as the room slowly made it go back to normal.

“Nothing much, just my own experiment”

“W-what do you m-mean!?” 

“Well, since Thunder didn’t fill up your genes, that means that it wasn’t your innate element, so, since I had two of the elements on me, I decided to test to see whether any of the two were your original ones”

Some streaks of light and dark aura appeared on Ness’s body as he was once again in an uncontrollable state, just like in the fight against Iago, some beams coming out of him as he tried to calm down

“You do realize that you could’ve killed me with that?! You had to use the same energy that HE used!” Ness was clearly worried, still shouting

“Why do you think I waited until we were in here. Believe me, it would’ve been nice to see you suffer after the shit you put me through with the beginning weeks, but I’m not like that. This room can help calm down the pain and not make you faint. And I’m pretty sure you were already interested in finding your original element, so this can be of help”

Ness did not respond. Minutes passed, the only thing coming from Ness’s mouth being grunts of pain as the room fixed him back up. When the room was finally done, Ness finally calmed down, breathing deeply.

“So, how do you feel?”

“I feel.. different… I can’t really put it into words, but I do feel like what you did did, something” Ness said this while slowly taking control back over his breathing.

“I knew that could help a bit… would you like to go to your lab to investigate how your genes are holding up?” Right after I said this, the alarm inside of the training room turned on

“QUICKLY, EVERYONE COME TO THE MEETING ROOM. ANIMA DAEMONIUM MISSION INBOUND!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a no” Ness said this while grunting a bit, clearly annoyed of not being able to investigate this…

“Well, we’ll check it after this mission, don’t worry” I said this in a calm tone as I stood up and started to run towards the exit of the room, with it clearly in my mind to not be stopped.

“2 MEMBERS MISSING OF CROSSING THROUGH THE PORTAL”

Ness quickly stood up behind me and ran with me towards the meeting room, quickly jumping into the portal before me.

After I jumped in, my jaw dropped… there were signs of destruction everywhere, with explosions still occurring around us as we looked around.

“Took you guys long enough” Martha said this in a confident but annoying tone, one Flame of Hatred revolving around her as she looked forward.

“Do we have a visual on who it is?” Ness said this as he prepared his lightning, looking forward.

“We know Iago is here, but, he has someone else with him” Mark said this as he stood in front of everyone, his Impenetrable Armor protecting all of us as the explosions came closer and closer in front of us.

Once the source got right in front of us, we could clearly see Iago flying above all of us with some sort of platform, looking us over.

“Yes, YES! This experiment is showing to be successful!” Iago shouted this as the other member crashed right into the Mark’s barrier. We could see him clearly now… 022… but, something wasn’t right… and as soon as I noticed the aura surrounding him, I knew what it was…

“Oh… oh no…” I said this with a clearly scared tone as 022’s aura grew larger… it was a dark red aura flowing like fire all around him. “Guys, this is not safe, we’ve gotta get out”

“What do you mean Colin?” Ness said this while being a lot more scared than I was from just his shear sight.

“Oh, believe me! There’s no way you can run away no! Specially from the new and improved 022!” Iago shouted this from above as 022 started to break Mark’s barrier.

“Colin, explain, quickly” Martha said this in a loud tone as I walked back slowly, scared to my soul…

“Power Lust” That’s all I said, as Mark’s barrier fully broke, with a now enraged 022 lounging at us.

 

END OF CHAPTER 15

 


	16. Power Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Power Lust user was found, and a strong one at that, putting Colin on a hard spot

022 crossed our only defense, attacking Mark first to put him out of commission. Mark luckily dodged the attack moving to the side with almost incredible speeds. Again, this was one of his powers, that being 5th Power, Star over the World

[Ability Description]  
5th Power, Star Over The World  
This is a S̹̹̬͈̦̤̳̑̏̈́ͥ̋ͦ͌h̙̳͍̰̤̞͔̏͆̚y̭̫̤͎̩̻͉͍̽ͬ̍̑u̟͓̥̲͎̙̜͂͑̑̏̋̔͆͞l̉̽͗̏ͫ͡͏̥͍n̮͚̈́ͬ̏͆̊͗ͣp̶͚͕͉̰̬͍̣͕̺̓ͯ̍̅ͫͭt̘͍̺̲̣̘͙̞ͩ̇͠h̙̹̼̖ͣe̵̬̗̩͔̪͍̜̺̠͛̅̇͗͟r͉̻͖̺̯̩̎̉͆̍̄̽ͦ͞͞[File Corrupted] ability, which allows the user to see the rest of the world at 0.1* the actual speed, allowing the user to respond to anything with speed and precision. It could almost seem like time has stopped for the user.

Of course, it wasn’t long before 022 tried attacking again, moving quickly behind Mark and hitting him once again, knocking him forwards towards a building, making a crater of the side of the building. He then tried to attack Martha, but a whistle coming from Iago stopped him, making him standing still right in front of Martha, making her shrivel up a bit with fear. When he was standing still, I turned my body towards Iago, shouting at him.  
“What did you do to him?! How did you trigger Power Lust?!” I screamed this at the top of my lungs.  
“Oh, nothing much, just used the ability of my helmet” Iago said this while taping the left side of his helmet “It allows me to copy one ability being used by my opponent and give it to one of my partners. Sadly, 022 did not possess the second soul, so I could only trigger Lust”

Power Lust… even though it was the first time I had seen it, my father had explained it to me from his time as a Sylph Hunter. Power Lust was an attempt to activate Power Overdrive without a second soul, which would end up with the Sylph being filled with rage, returning them to an almost animal state, and compared to the water-like aura flow of Overdrive, Lust has a more fire-like aura flow. Even though it doesn’t enhance as much as Power Overdrive, it still gives a 2.5x attack multiplier, as well as deactivating the pain nerves. And due to them being in an animal like state, they do not hold back with their attacks, so in some sense, they could still end up being stronger. But, it did come with a comeback. When it is deactivated, that person’s energy will be used heavily, giving them blood red-eyes and leaving them heavily damaged, if not dead after a long usage

“This can get him killed you know?!” I said this with an angry tone of my voice as I summoned my double buster, preparing myself for an attack.  
Iago simply laughed maniacally at this, almost wheezing “Do you think we care if any of our teammates die!? We can easily get new members! There’s always people with an evil conscience in the world, we can easily get new members” Iago said this as he lifted up the whistle he was holding “Now, I don’t think I have a need for the two of you, but Martha has something we could use, so now, disappear!” Iago blew on his whistle, making a strong frequency that triggered 022, making him turn towards Ness and me.  
“Ness, leave him to me” I said this as I turned to see 022, holding my double buster tightly  
“But, you said we should-” I cut Ness off from continuing his sentence.  
“Yeah, but if he gets what he wants, we will not be able to win. Based on his ability, he’s either going for her flames of hatred or her demonic form. Either way, we cannot let him access those. So go and beat him!” I said this with a leader-like tone, slowly activating Power Overdrive.  
“So, you wish to die alone? So be it!” Iago then commanded 022 to attack me, to which he lounged against me, making both of us slide down the street, with me stopping the direct impact with my buster.  
At this point I could no longer see the rest of the team, once again, I was all alone, fighting the Masked Assailant. Once he stopped the sliding, I was launched back, almost crashing into a building, but stopping just centimeters in front of it.  
“Well then, what happened to not being consumed by rage while fighting?” I tried to be snarky, but I knew he would not understand me due to his instincts being the one in control. He lounged once again, this time with his fist in the air. I quickly dodged, making him punch the building, which caused a shockwave that launched me to one side, leaving a crater on the building and making it fall down due to a weak structure. This was dangerous, really dangerous, I never thought I would ever see someone with Power Lust activated, and it honestly scared me to the bone. But, I wouldn’t die against him, I had to win, if not, then how could the others win? Ness hadn’t found his true element yet, Martha, even though she had her demonic form, she didn’t know how to control it, nor how to use her Flames of Hatred, and, up until now, I hadn’t seen all of Mark’s -th powers, none of them at that time would have been able to dealt with him. Even so, I was sure I couldn’t be able to defeat him, even with all of my power. But I had to try.  
Once the building fully fell down, he quickly turned towards me again and ran towards me, punching continuously. I tried to block all of his attacks with my sword, but could see it slowly start to break as it tried to keep up with the force and the speed. He was slowly speeding up, making it harder for me to keep up, until finally, my sword broke, making him punch me right on the chest, cracking a few of my ribs. Since Power Overdrive was activated, I did not feel the pain, but, besides pushing me back, I could feel them almost piercing my lungs, so I knew I now had limited time, and without my sword, it would now be much harder to beat him. He continued his flurry of punches, with me now trying to intercept them with my own. There was some heavy backlash, due to him having an armor, and the tremendous amount of force being exerted by both of us, cracking the bones in my arm, making them almost noodle like by the end. I still persisted, enduring the broken bones. 022 also had his bones broken, but his armor served as support for his arms, keeping them sturdy as he continued his flurry. Meanwhile, I was just there, trying to block the attacks with my broken arms, trying to stay awake  
“What’s wrong?! Can’t hold up!?” 022 said this with an excited tone in his voice as he continued to attack, my arms now getting cut from the armor “I imagined more from the strongest!”  
“I’m just getting started!” I bluffed, I couldn’t hold up any longer, but I could still do my Novas, although, charging a full one would take a while. That’s when I got an idea… a really stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless. “But, it’s funny, how the one that’s been consumed by anger now is you”  
“It doesn’t matter!” 022 attacked after shouting this, punching directly into my stomach. With some of the energy I had, I activated Ghastly Illusion, quickly phasing through his attacks. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this quicker, maybe just the heat of battle and the thought of helplessness being in control. I quickly dodged his attacks, charging some small novas in my hands and launching them towards him, breaking bits off his armor. He continued to attack, some attacks getting through, but most being dodged (While launching Novas, I had to deactivate Ghastly Illusion). After some more attacks, he finally snapped roaring on spot, his roar putting a crack in the ground  
“That’s enough!” He then charged a Nova of his own, one as big as a car, launching it towards me. That’s the opening I was waiting for… I had it. I jumped over his attack, and charged one big Nova, using all of the power from my Power Overdrive, passing it on to the Nova, making just as big as a house.  
“Power Nova!” I then launched it towards him, which quickly consumed him with a blinding light… this lasted for about 10 seconds, which made me cover my eyes. Once it was over, I uncovered my eyes, seeing him on the floor, the blood red aura slowly disappearing, his armor fully gone. I walked slowly towards him, trying to keep my Power Overdrive on to not feel any pain. Once I got on top of him, my eyes were still adjusting. I used the last of my strength to summon one normal long sword, preparing to strike him… but, then my eyes fully adjusted, allowing me to see his face… I recognized that face… the blue and grey eyes before they turned blood red, a scar on his right cheek, and, even if it was longer, it was his hair still had its style…  
“J-James?”  
I found him… I found him… this was not how I expected to find him… but, I found him… my Power Overdrive was now starting to falter, I couldn’t keep it up much more. I had two options, take him with me back to the base, where he would need to be restricted from moving, or leave him there, at their mercy… I was the only one that knew how to cure Bloodshot Eyes, so he would have a better chance with me. Then again, he would need to be restricted. Still, I had found him… I was not going to let him go now. I carried him, running quickly back to where we appeared on the city. My Power Overdrive was just about to run out, so I had to hurry.  
I was finally seeing the rest of the team in the distance, the portal was open, and both Martha and Ness were fighting Iago. They were not having much problem, due to it being a 2 against one, and with Ness having their . Mark was still struggling to stand, but had managed to get up, his helmet fully off.  
“Guys! We have to run!” I shouted this from a distance, the pain in my lungs and arms starting to get to my mind, but not fully as I continued to run towards the portal.  
Iago turned his head to see us, huffing in anger as he saw that scene “How could you defeat my perfect experiment!? There was no way that you could’ve win agai-” he was cut short by one jumping punch from his back by Martha with her Flames of Hatred now activated, knocking him out almost instantly on top of his platform.  
“You know, even with all of that armor, he takes as much as I did before” Ness said this before looking over in my direction, a tone of fear appearing on his face “What the hell are you doing?!”  
“We’re taking him hostage. I’ll explain later, I don’t have much time” I said this as I quickly jumped through the portal, holding James as I did. Martel was in the waiting area, clearly waiting for us. As soon as I jumped in, the expression on her face changed from happy to surprised when she saw James  
“Why the he-” I cut her off before she could finish, running towards the hallways.  
“No time to explain, I’m almost fucking dead” I said this as the last of my Power Overdrive went away. Now I was at the mercy of my own stamina and adrenaline. I had to get to the training room before I fell dead. I was not going to die now that I finally found him. My eyesight was blurring, I could feel myself tumbling as I walked and started to feel James’s weight as I got closer and closer.  
I finally got to the room, the door opening automatically as I got in front of it. I quickly launched both myself and him inside of the room, James finally falling out of my arms, his armor clanking against the ground. Meanwhile, I finally laid down with my back on the floor. I could feel all the pain in my system now, the immense pain from my shattered arms, my ribs poking at my lungs, the pain in my skull from his head punch, everything. My vision continued to get even blurrier as I laid down, my whole body going numb, before I finally fell, losing consciousness

END OF CHAPTER 16.


End file.
